Accused Dawson man to stay in custody until trial
A Dawson City man charged with assault and attempted murder of police officers has been denied bail.
A Dawson City man charged with assault and attempted murder of police officers has been denied bail.
Mark McDiarmid, 35, has been in custody at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre since October 2011, when the alleged altercation with Dawson City RCMP took place.
A jury trial for charges he faces in Yukon Supreme Court – mischief, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, assaulting a police officer with a weapon, and attempted murder – is scheduled to begin Jan. 19 in Dawson.
McDiarmid was self-represented at his bail hearing, which stretched out over two days last week.
Justice Karan Shaner’s reasons for denying bail and evidence heard in court are protected by a publication ban.
In 2012, McDiarmid began a five-month hunger strike to protest conditions at WCC, including cold temperatures and a lack of food provided to inmates.
The territorial government sought and was granted an emergency court order last year to force him to begin eating again.
Comments (5)
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Dawsonite on Nov 17, 2014 at 1:54 am
Mark, who I did not know personally at all, was delivering a cord of wood in front of my house when a policeman showed up and was attempting to serve him some type of paperwork (a warrant for his arrest, I think, as I later heard). I had no idea what was unfolding but Mark suddenly looked shaken, said sternly "no, not now, no", jumped in his truck, and slowly backed away from my yard. I stood dumbfounded. The policeman looked at me pleasantly, even somewhat amused, and said with a half smile "I hope you get the rest of your wood" as the back of Mark's truck still contained nearly half of the cord I had already paid for. The policeman then also got into his car and began to pursue Mark, albeit at a slow pace as the getaway was also slow moving. Several hours later that day I heard how much the situation had escalated, and I still feel strange that the beginnings of such an event transpired in front of me. I never did get the rest of that wood - it was a cold October.
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Atom on Nov 16, 2014 at 7:27 am
Let's just say threatening RCMP with an axe is not a good career move.....not a career out of jail that is.
I mean how does someone come to be wanted by RCMP in the first place and then figure it an appropriate move to grab the axe?
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Max Mack on Nov 12, 2014 at 1:11 am
McDiarmid was shot and arrested by RCMP in October 2011, ostensibly because he was "threatening officers with a 'large axe'". He has now been in custody for 3 years without a trial. Unfortunately, McDiarmid continues to choose to self-represent which means he will most likely continue to lose every court action, as he has to date. Mr. McDiarmid desperately needs a competent lawyer to defend him or he will be going away for a very long time -- even if the charge of attempted murder is bogus. The Crown is very happy to allow him to self-represent as this means they continue to win. Why the judges are allowing this charade to continue is beyond me . . .
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L.Szigety on Nov 10, 2014 at 7:04 pm
Rod, many of these people are going to get out some day, and when they do, the amount of displeasure you wish upon them may someday be returned in the form of recidivism in the future.
The form of justice you are advocating for is nothing more than punishment that does indeed see former inmates return to their prior behaviour once they enter back into the community.
If you really think that the "conditions at the new correctional facility are better then a lot of honest working folks have" might I encourage you to go stay there for a few months, or a couple of years and then tell us about how wonderful they are.
As a point, the advancements in rights and "privileges" granted to inmates is in direct relation to the destructive activities of former jail procedures over countless centuries that sought to grant a venue for the morbidly sadist types to act out their violent inner methodologies upon convicted inmates through what is now known to be and classified as torture. It is the elimination of these types of sadist practices that has led to a drop in recidivism rates across the board.
Also, it must be said, McDiarmid is still classed as innocent until proven guilty by a jury of his peers. Perhaps you would be best served rereading the Criminal Code and brushing up on Common Law, before making such uninformed statements with regards to his status.
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Rod on Nov 10, 2014 at 4:46 pm
"In 2012, McDiarmid began a five-month hunger strike to protest conditions at WCC". After you have attempted to kill police officers did you honestly think you were moving into the "Hilton".....That being said, the conditions at the new correctional facility are better then a lot of honest working folks have. You get your three meals a day, a bed, and a new flat screen with cable in your private room! What a joke! Make these convicted fellows earn their privileges! Jail In Whitehorse sounds more like a winter resort! You Mr. McDiarmid need to be tossed in a cell and fed whatever you are given...If you don't like the conditions, follow the laws that everyone else has to follow! You lost all your rights when you broke all those laws!!!!