Psych exam ordered for alleged firebug
Defence seeks to have arson suspect Ryanne Joseph Pineda, 35, of Fredericton, assessed if he might be exempt from criminal responsibility due to mental illness
An arson suspect accused of violating release conditions has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric assessment to determine his state of mind at the time of the alleged crime.
Ryanne Joseph Pineda, 35, of Sunset Boulevard, appeared again in Fredericton provincial court by video conference from jail Thursday, scheduled to go through his second bail hearing this month..
He faces a charge of arson, alleging he torched his own home the night of March 29 while being reckless as to whether others were inside the house at the time.
Duty counsel Gerald Pugh appeared as an agent for Pineda’s defence lawyer, T.J. Burke, who was unavailable Thursday.
Rather than proceed with the bail hearing, Pugh said he’d been directed to request a 30-day psychiatric assessment to determine if Pineda might be exempt from criminal responsibility due to a mental disorder at the time of his alleged offence.
The defendant was released on strict conditions after a bail hearing April 11, but Fredericton police officers arrested him again April 17 and charged with breaching those conditions - namely that he violated the house-arrest provisions of his release order.
Judge Lucie Mathurin presided over that first bail hearing, and she was also on the bench for Thursday’s proceedings.
She noted Thursday she was concerned about Pineda’s mental health after reading some details from the police brief filed with the court as evidence in his bail hearing.
That brief is subjected to a publication ban until the arson case against Pineda is concluded.
The judge also said there are other factors that might explain the defendant’s behaviour.
“I know that there are some drug issues that could be at play here,” Mathurin said.
Pineda has mentioned during earlier court appearances that he suffers from drug addiction and has asked for help with it.
Prosecutor Rodney Jordan said the Crown was agreeable to the assessment order.
Mathurin granted the defence request and remanded Pineda to the Restigouche Hospital Centre, a secure psychiatric facility in Campbellton.
He’ll be back before the court May 29 for a review of his assessment report from Restigouche.
When Pineda was released after his bail hearing earlier this month, he deposited a $10,000 surety with the court.
Jordan said Thursday the Crown will be seeking to have that cash forfeited as a result of Pineda’s alleged violation of conditions.
Among the other conditions his April 11 release order were abstaining from alcohol and drugs, refraining from associating with people with criminal records, allowing compliance checks by police at his home.
You can contact Don MacPherson at ftonindependent@gmail.com.
It will be nice to see Mr Burke back in the courtroom again. He has been unavailable for quite some time now.