A man was sentenced Monday to a further four years in jail for a trio of offences that included setting fire to a Bear Lake home.
It wasn't the worst of the acts Cody Alan Cragg, 29, committed. He was also sentenced for attempted murder and assault, both committed in Port Coquitlam, during a hearing in Prince George provincial court.
At question was whether Cragg should be declared a dangerous offender. Given a lengthy criminal record that has included previous convictions for attempted murder and arson, Crown argued in favour of the designation, which can carry a indeterminate sentence of imprisonment.
However, provincial court judge Melissa Gillespie agreed with defence counsel that Cragg has taken significant steps to turn his life around in the time since he's been in custody for the most recent series of crimes. Cragg has shown he is motivated to change his behaviour, has stayed out of trouble and has taken advantage of the opportunities provided at Prince George Regional Correctional Centre to become a different person, the court heard.
However, Gillespie said Cragg still poses a high risk to reoffend and would benefit from the programming provided at the federal level. Going through such programming will take four years, she said.
Cragg will also be subject to 10 years of long-term supervision once he has completed his time behind bars - the maximum a judge can issue.
Cragg has been in custody since April 26, 2014 when he lit three fires in the home of an elderly Bear Lake man while he had been sleeping. The man awoke to the sound of dripping water and discovered the suite was full of smoke. However, two of the fires had burned themselves out and the third was quickly extinguished, limiting the damage.
Cragg had been on a drug binge and hadn't slept in days to the point where he was hallucinating. Upon lighting the fires, he stole the man's truck but drove to Prince George where he turned himself into the RCMP and confessed to the act.
Cragg was later released on remand to the Colony Farm forensic psychiatric hospital where, in June 2014, he launched an unprovoked assault on a fellow patient. Then, in February 2015, while also at Colony Farm, he got up on top of another patient while he was sleeping and started choking him, then put a pillow over his face before staff were able to pull Cragg off the man.
For the last of the incidents, Cragg was sentenced to nine years less credit of five years for time served prior to sentencing. The incident in Bear Lake drew a concurrent term of 2 1/2 years and the assault a concurrent term of 90 days.
At the time of the incidents, Cragg would go through bouts of homicidal and suicidal ideation and was indulging in substance abuse. However, particularly in the last two years, Cragg has shown noticeable improvement in coping with his emotions and the situations he encounters, Gillespie found.
