A man who allegedly attacked a guard at the Edmonton Remand Centre on May 17th was one of three teenagers responsible in the 2011 shooting death of Ethan Yellowbird, CBC has confirmed.
A source tells CBC the assault that sent the guard to hospital with a broken jaw, cuts to his lip and face and broken teeth took place during the medication rounds. The man has been charged with assaulting a peace officer.
The inmate allegedly responsible for the assault was one of three boys who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2013 in connection to the death of Yellowbird. He was 16 at the time of the shooting and cannot be named.
He was sentenced to six months of secure custody, one year of open custody and 18 months of conditional supervision for the crime.
Since then, according to court records, the now 21-year-old has been charged with failing to appear in court in April 2016 and with resisting and obstructing a peace officer in November 2015.
The five-year-old Yellowbird was struck in the head by a stray bullet on July 11, 2011, as he slept inside his Maskwacis home about 90 km south of Edmonton.
According to the agreed statement of facts obtained by CBC at the time, the oldest youth, then 17, used a rifle to fire a shot over the house.
He then handed the gun to the other boys, then 16 and 13, who fired two shots each into the house.
“One of the shots fired at the house hit Ethan Yellowbird,” the court documents stated. However, it isn’t clear which teen fired the shot that killed the little boy.
It was also reported that the three boys were part of the East Side Playas gang on the reserve.
If convicted of the remand centre assault, the inmate faces up to five years in prison.