Another man faces judge for part in fiery homebrew jail riot

Duane Bjornaa pleaded guilty Tuesday to participating in a riot for the role he played in a fiery and violent disturbance at the Algoma Treatment and Remand Centre in January.

"You may have been a little fish but you swam in a bad pool," Ontario Court Justice John Condon told the 43-year-old man, after hearing his involvement in the Jan. 27 incident described as lower end.

The disturbance erupted after correctional officers detected the odour of a homemade brew in the remand centre's west wing, which housed 19 inmates.

Two of the prisoners appeared to be intoxicated, and four others were drinking something from a laundry basket, assistant Crown attorney Heidi Mitchell said.

A heated argument broke out between some of the men, and the violence soon escalated from taunting the officers, to activating a sprinkler system in a cell that sent water flowing from the top tier of the range.

When the water was turned off, a fire alarm was triggered and smoke was spotted pouring out of a cell.

Officers could see a large fire on the cell floor, with flames touching the ceiling, Mitchell said.

Due to the fire, the cells were unlocked, the area became unsafe for the correctional officers and they left.

The riot broke out when a highly agitated prisoner encouraged others to throw objects and bang on the window of the guards' module.

Four inmates, including Bjornaa, began to cover the window with paper so the officers couldn't see what was happening, the assistant Crown attorney said.

Multiple fires were ignited, but the inmates were eventually extracted from the wing.

Condon heard Bjornaa has no prior record, and was in the remand centre facing charges, which are slated to go to trial this fall.

The Crown and defence lawyer Ken Walker jointly recommended that he be sentenced to one-day time served (45 days).

"There has to be a clear message that if you engage in this conduct there will be serious consequences," Mitchell said.

Walker agreed, but noted others were directing what transpired and if Bjornaa hadn't participated he would have faced consequences inside the jail.

"Your decision to curtail the officers' view put others at serious risk," Condon told the accused when he imposed the sentence.

But, as Walker indicated there is a culture in institutions that could well have resulted in consequences if Bjornaa had not participated, the judge said.

"You are and were in a correctional centre for a reason," he reminded Bjornaa, who remains in custody.

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