Skip to content

Crown wants stricter conditions placed on Dylan Jocko after London issue

He also had an incident in the Sault in the Gore Street area
180713courthouse3MP
The Sault Ste. Marie Courthouse is pictured in this file photo.
Dylan Jocko was back in a Sault Ste. Marie courtroom Monday to face a number of charges, including allegations that he repeatedly breached a restrictive court order that he had been placed on because of fears he will commit a serious personal injury.

The 35-year-old man was on the 18-month recognizance after serving time for the part he played in the horrific killing of Wesley Hallam eight years ago.

Jocko was one of three men, convicted in July 2016 of manslaughter in the 29-year-old man's death and dismemberment.

On Monday, he pleaded guilty to five offences, including two counts of failing to comply with the peace bond which required him to reside in London, at an address approved by the southwestern Ontario city's police service.

Jocko was to notify the supervising officer and get his approval in advance before relocating, and he needed the okay of the police in any community where he was planning to take up residence.

He also was convicted of escaping lawful custody on July 15 when a Sault Ste. Marie city police officer attempted to arrest him, and two counts of missing court dates in Chapleau.

Ontario Court Justice John Kukurin heard London police had approved an address for Jocko in that community, but he subsequently failed to report to them.

Officers tried to locate him in June and July 2018, but his whereabouts was unknown, prosecutor Karen Pritchard said.

He was located in Brunswick House First Nation and on July 31 of last year he went to police in Chapleau, indicating he wanted to stay in Brunswick.

Jocko was charged with breaching the order, released from custody and was to return to court on Oct. 15, 2018.

When he didn't show up, he was again arrested and ordered to appear in court on April 15 of this year, which he did and the matter was put over until June 10.

After he missed the June date, a warrant was issued for his arrest.

In July, a Sault police officer responded to a disturbance on Gore Street, and spoke to a man who said his name was Wyatt, and kept repeating "I've been good, I've been good,' 'Pritchard said.

His tattoos later indicated his true identity. It  also was known that Jocko used the alias of Wyatt McDonald, the court heard.

The same officer saw him again on July 15, riding a bicycle in the same area and arrested him for providing a false name.

Jocko pushed the bike forward, and began running northward into a Cathcart Street backyard, jumping fences.

Other officers caught up with him, and he was taken into custody, insisting he was doing nothing wrong, Pritchard said.

The assistant Crown attorney and defence lawyer Bruce Willson jointly recommended that he be sentenced to 12 months jail.

With credit for his pres-sentence custody, he faces a further eight months behind bars.

The lawyers disagreed on probation, with Pritchard calling for the maximum amount of three years with numerous restrictions and the defence suggesting one year.

Protection of the public has to be paramount, the Crown argued, describing Jocko as a high risk to re-offend.

Given his criminal record with "ample violence" and "abysmal compliance" with the recognizance, Jocko needs to be monitored, she said.

Jocko was placed on the order on Feb. 18, 2018, and by June had breached the conditions and left the jurisdiction, unbeknownst to the London police, Pritchard told the court.

He was on the order, which expired in August, for 18 months, but was only compliant for about four months and has "largely been unsupervised most of the time."

Pritchard said it has to be taken into account why Jocko was on that order — after pleading guilty to manslaughter and causing indignity to a human body.

Jocko played an integral part in the January 2011 killing and removed the head, hand and feet from the body, she told Kukurin.

Willson argued that at the time of the manslaughter conviction Jocko couldn't be placed on probation because of the length of his sentence (the equivalent of a penitentiary term).

He had already been in custody for more than five years since his arrest on a charge of first-degree murder and was sentenced to a further two years less a day incarceration in 2016.

Willson maintained the Crown was trying "to go through the back door" by having Jocko placed on a lengthy probation order rather than seeking the attorney-general's approval to obtain a further restictive recognizance.

"This continued punishment associated with the manslaughter charge should stop." 

Jocko hasn't committed any further substantive charges, and there was no serious personal injury, the defence said.

"He is pleading to simply breaches of a judge administrative order," Willson said. "Nothing he has done here should cause anyone concern of him committing any serious offences."

Kukurin will give his decision Oct. 23.

EDITOR'S NOTE: SooToday does not permit comments on court stories


What's next?


If you would like to apply to become a Verified reader Verified Commenter, please fill out this form.



About the Author: Linda Richardson

Linda Richardson is a freelance journalist who has been covering Sault Ste. Marie's courts and other local news for more than 45 years.
Read more