A 29-year-old Wilkesport man will spend another 48 days in jail for his part in a bizarre shooting at a Wallaceburg intersection in late July 2021.
Originally charged with a series of offences, including attempted murder, Jonathon Clark pleaded guilty in March to possession of a dangerous weapon and possession of firearm while prohibited.
He was sentenced on Nov. 3 to two years less a day – a joint submission from the Crown and Clark’s defense lawyer – but the two sides disagreed on the amount of enhanced credit Clark should receive for pre-sentence custody.
Defense lawyer Sarah Donahue asked for an additional 80 days of enhanced credit on top of the 621 days of legislated credit for the time Clark spent in pre-trial custody, which would have left Clark with another 30 days to serve. Donahue pointed to pandemic-related hardships endured by her client during his 414 days in pre-sentence custody.
Assistant Crown attorney James Boonstra countered with 40 days of enhanced credit, which would have seen Clark spend a further 68 days in custody.
Donahue noted her client had spent at least 178 days being housed with two other inmates in a cramped cell and more than 100 days of unplanned lockdown conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Justice Robert Horton, after hearing an impassioned plea from Clark, opted to roughly split the difference.
Noting he’d “made nothing but mistakes” in his life,” Clark told the judge: “For once, I’m trying to do the best that I can.”
Clark’s sentencing had previously been delayed from June at Donahue’s request because of her client’s rehabilitative efforts to kick a longtime addiction to crystal methamphetamine.
In recent months, Clark has been attending – and leading – Narcotics Anonymous meetings while jailed at Windsor’s South West Detention Centre.
Despite the difficulty of overcoming the cycle of drug addiction, Clark said he was motivated to be a better father figure to his young stepson, who had been struggling with his own life challenges.
“I’m struggling with him, and me being here is a problem for him and it’s my fault for being here, so that weighs pretty heavily on me,” Clark said.
Clark also told the court he was worried about his stepson’s future if he doesn’t help him get back on the right track.
“He is my drive. He is everything to me,” Clark said.
Calling his remarks to the court “well said,” Horton gave Clark credit for the work he’s done to deal with his drug addiction.
Horton told Clark “to pursue your sobriety and … continue to give a gift to the community, which is facilitating and assisting in those meetings even outside of the institution.
“Your words are weighing a lot more than you know, I think. I wish you all the best.”
Clark said, “I appreciate it and I plan to.”
While Clark’s rehabilitative efforts played a key role in earning him enhanced credit,
Clark’s charges stemmed from a July 25, 2021, traffic stop after a Chatham-Kent police officer noticed suspicious damage to a vehicle. Police later discovered that shots had been fired at the intersection of King and Victoria streets earlier that day.
Clark and Tashia Houle, the driver of the vehicle, were arrested later that week. The charges against Houle, who originally faced one count of attempted murder and one count of dangerous driving were withdrawn after Clark’s guilty plea.