THUNDER BAY — The man convicted of manslaughter in the 2018 death of 17-year-old Braiden Jacob has been sentenced to five years and four months, but with credit for pre-sentence custody, he has just under two years left to serve.
Justice Bonnie Warkentin handed down her sentenced for 27-year-old Jonathan Yellowhead in a Thunder Bay courtroom on Monday.
Yellowhead was convicted of manslaughter in August 2022 following a two-week trial.
Jacob, originally from Webequie First Nation, was in Thunder Bay to receive grief counselling and was first reported missing on Dec. 6, 2018.
Throughout the trial, the court heard evidence that on the evening of Dec. 5, 2018, a group of people including Yellowhead and Jacob were consuming alcohol in an Arthur Street hotel room.
After the group was evicted from the hotel due to a window being broken, Yellowhead and Jacob were recorded on video surveillance leaving together. Witnesses also observed them walking toward the Limbrick Street area.
Surveillance footage from the Limbrick Street area showed Yellowhead and Jacob leaving together at approximately 1:30 a.m. Yellowhead was then seen returning alone at approximately 4:30 a.m.
Jacob’s body was found on Dec. 9, 2018 in the Chapples Park area by a passerby. A post-mortem examination determined he died as a result of hypothermia, with the forensic pathologist concluding blunt force trauma to his face and head and alcohol intoxication likely rendered him unconscious and thereby preventing him from seeking shelter from the cold.
Further forensic evidence was presented at the trial, including blood-like staining with a DNA profile matching Jacob being found on a backpack Yellowhead was seen wearing and on the door frame of a Limbrick Street residence where he stayed the night of Dec. 6, 2018.
Warkentin rejected an alternate suspect theory posited by the defense, as well as assertions that the investigation by the Thunder Bay Police Service was inadequate. While Warkentin did concede that the Crown’s evidence was largely circumstantial, she found that Yellowhead ultimately caused Jacob’s death.
A sentencing submission hearing was held in December 2022, with the Crown seeking a custodial sentence of eight to 12 years, while the defense suggested three to five years.
Warkentin said she took several aggravating and mitigating factors into consideration when determining her sentence.
“The significant aggravating factor in this case is Mr. Yellowhead’s criminal background, which includes incidents of violence,” she said.
Another aggravating factor included the impact Jacob’s death has had on his family, which has endured several loses both before and after he died.
The mitigating factors taken into consideration include Yellowhead being a youthful Indigenous offender and the impacts of the residential school system on his family and home community of Eabametoong First Nation as outlined in a Gladue and pre-sentence report.
Other mitigating factors noted by Warkentin include Yellowhead seeking rehabilitative treatment while in custody and working to complete his high school education.
Warkentin also cited Jacob’s cause of death being that of hypothermia.
“The evidence was Mr. Jacob died from hypothermia, not the injuries he sustained by Mr. Yellowhead,” she said. “It was because Mr. Jacob was unable to seek shelter after being assaulted that resulted in his death by hypothermia.”
Warkentin found a just and appropriate sentence to be five years and four months for Yellowhead on the conviction of manslaughter.
Due to conditions at the Thunder Bay District Jail, pre-sentence custody was enhanced at a 2:1 basis, giving Yellowhead 42 months and leaving him with one year and 10 months to serve.
Because the sentence is less than two years after pre-sentence custody, Yellowhead will be subject to three-years probation upon his release and he will be required to continue all assessments and rehabilitative programs.
Yellowhead is also required to submit a DNA sample and is subject to a weapons prohibition order for 10 years.
