Crown wants 8 years for bizarre gasoline incident that destroyed a home and left local man badly burned

Joseph Gingras should be sentenced to eight years in a federal penitentiary for setting a blaze that destroyed a friend's house and severely injured the occupant's cousin, the Crown argued last week. 

The 46-year-old ignited the fire four years ago following a long night of drinking and drug use at a Batchewana First Nation residence.

His actions on Sept. 22, 2019, left Thomas Boissoneau "physically scarred for the rest of his life," prosecutor Robert Skeggs said.

Boissoneau spent time on life support, 30 days in a coma and nearly lost his limbs and life.

This is "a serious crime with horrifying consequences" and "calls for a significant punitive sentence," the assistant Crown attorney maintained.

Gingras' actions were deliberate - he burnt down the house and caused horrific injuries.

"I don't know if Mr.Gingras is any different today than he was then," Skeggs said, referring to court-ordered reports prepared for the sentencing hearing.

Looking through the pre-sentence, Gladue and psychiatric reports, the Crown noted Gingras spent a lot of time talking about the impact on him.

"I didn't see Mr. Boissoneau's name," the Crown told Superior Court Justice Michael Varpio.

While the accused's guilty pleas are mitigating, Gingras has a criminal record dating back to 1997 that includes convictions for assaults and resisting police, he said.

In a victim impact statement, Boissoneau, who now lives in Alberta, detailed the emotional toll the traumatic incident has had on his life.

He has nightmares, is depressed and angry, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and is paranoid.

This has affected his relationship with his family, Varpio heard.

Defence lawyer Angela Ruffo called for a sentence of time served - the equivalent of five years - for the time her client has spent behind bars since his arrest.

Gingras is grappling with the role he played in what occurred, and admits to the facts presented to the court when he pleaded guilty earlier this year.

He was convicted of arson (intentionally causing damage to property) and aggravated assault in July.

Gingras admitted he poured gasoline on Boissoneau and around the residence to "scare him out of suicide" and the "fire ended up worse than he intended," the Toronto lawyer said.

Gingras indicated he "didn't realize it would be that bad" and "I did a horrible, terrible thing."

There is no evidence of malice between the two men, Ruffo told Varpio, noting "the level of intoxication affected the judgment of both men."

They "got along" and Gingras "was trying to help in an extremely misguided way," she said.

Substance abuse and mental illness played a role in what occurred.

"The issue is moral culpability," Ruffo said. "In the context of the very unique constellation of facts here, there is a diminished level of responsibility and moral culpability."

During the time Gingras has been in custody at the Algoma Treatment and Remand Centre, there have been 229 lockdowns at the facility, the court heard.

These restrictive circumstances affected programming.

Gingras did some programs, but not as much as he could have without the restrictions.

As well, he experienced significant losses - his partner, father and sister passed away.

Ruffo said her client would benefit from continued substance abuse counselling, which could be part of a probation order.

In July, the court head Gingras was in a downward spiral, excessively consuming alcohol and drugs.

He was staying at Darrell Johnson's house, when Boissoneau dropped by on Sept. 21, to see his cousin.

The trio started partying, drinking liquor and beer, and using cocaine.

Gingras and Johnson also consumed crystal meth, while Boissoneau used benzodiazepines and marijuana.

Johnson was asleep when an emotional Boissoneau began talking about how he wanted to die.

Gingras tried to talk him out of it, then decided to frighten the man out of his suicidal thoughts by suggesting Boissoneau set himself on fire.

Waiving a lighter, he poured gasoline on Boissoneau and around the house, and the two men then showered themselves with gas.

Both suffered burn injuries.

Boissoneau was airlifted to a Toronto hospital with life-threatening injuries to 35 per cent of his body. He remained in critical condition for more than a month.

Gingras was taken to the Sault Area Hospital intensive care unit with burns to 15 per cent of his body.

After hearing from the lawyers, Varpio asked Gingras if there was anything he wanted to say.

"I'm truly sorry. I think about it every day, about him (the victim) being burnt up and the house burned," he told the judge  

"It wasn't my intention to hurt anyone."

A date for Varpio to deliver his decision is to be set this week.