Thorne began using alcohol and drugs at a young age, she continued, and he was evicted from his home following his father’s death. He was living on the street when he was shot, suffering injuries that required over a year of recovery.

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“The risks posed to them, any neighbours, and in addition anyone that might have been in that house that was shot at, was significant,” the prosecutor said.

Those were the words used Wednesday by Regina provincial court Judge Murray Hinds as he described the Aug. 8, 2022 actions of Michael Swan Thorne.

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His mother died of a drug overdose when he was six years old, forcing him to live with his violent, alcoholic father. He went on to live with other relatives, after which he was abused physically and sexually, Geiler said.

Police were dispatched to the 1300 block of Rae Street at around 7:45 p.m. that evening after it was reported that a man had just shot at a house. A Taser was used on Thorne after he fled from officers, first on a bicycle and then on foot, according to a news release issued after he was apprehended.

However, she said his record contained more than 30 criminal convictions, some of which were for violence against people.

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But Geiler said her client has been sober since his incarceration and stays in touch with his four young children — relationships he hopes to continue building.

It was clear that Hinds had taken these submissions into consideration when he addressed Thorne, offering comments of both admonishment and understanding.

Michael Swan Thorne experienced abuse as a child and was shot while living on the streets as an adult, his lawyer explained in court Wednesday before Thorpe received a seven-year prison sentence.

Sparks said there was evidence that people with Thorne were yelling “shoot him, shoot him.” While she acknowledged the court had found the evidence was not enough to prove he had pointed the gun at a specific person, Sparks said the Crown considered the circumstances aggravating. She further noted that a home attached to the targeted building was occupied by a witness and multiple children.

“This was not a situation, your honour, of a random drive-by shooting, but instead a situation where there seemed to be an apparent conflict going on, and the shooting was specifically targeted at the residence in question.”

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The judge encouraged the man to make use of his time in prison and avoid returning to a life of substance abuse upon his eventual release.

At the time of his arrest, Thorne was packing a number of weapons, including a sawed-off rifle, a machete and some manner of improvised weapon made from fabric and a pool ball, according to Hinds.

On Wednesday, Hinds accepted a joint submission from the Crown and defence, sentencing the 32-year-old man to a total of seven years in federal prison. Most of the sentence was attributed to the reckless discharge of a firearm, which the judge viewed as the most serious offence.

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“Mr. Thorne does have a history of violence,” prosecutor Aly Sparks told the judge, acknowledging that the offences for which he was being sentenced did not include violence against a specific person.

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Defence lawyer Cassan Geiler offered the judge some context about her client’s life, and what led to the situation for which he was charged.

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“The history of colonialism has had a significant impact on his life,” she said, noting that multiple generations in his family attended residential school.

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