Warning: This story contains details of a violent altercation that may be disturbing to some readers.
Three men have now been sentenced after a September 2024 incident in Norman Wells that involved another man being bear sprayed and shot with a crossbow.
In NWT Territorial Court last week, Judge Robert Gorin sentenced Tegan Sutherland, 24, to 26 months’ imprisonment for six charges connected to the incident as well as other separate cases, as first reported by the CBC.
Those charges included unlawfully entering a dwelling house, assault while threatening to use a weapon, mischief, uttering threats and failure to comply with a release order.
Sutherland was given credit for 232 days in pre-sentencing custody. Once released from jail, he will be prohibited from possessing firearms for five years.
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The Crown withdrew additional charges against Sutherland of disguising his face with the intent to commit an offence, carrying a weapon for the purpose of committing an offence, and obstructing a police officer.
Sutherland turned himself in to Norman Wells RCMP in September 2024 after police announced they had charged Sutherland and Dallas McCauley in connection with a “significant altercation” that involved bear spray and a crossbow and resulted in two people receiving medical treatment.
Police also charged Cody Wheeler in connection to the incident.
Court records indicate neither Sutherland nor Wheeler sprayed the man with bear spray, nor fired the crossbow.
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Sutherland told the author of a pre-sentencing report he felt “guilty and ashamed” about his offences. He said his alcohol use and the people he surrounded himself with had contributed to his crimes.
The pre-sentencing report states Sutherland was a first-time offender with no criminal record at the time of the offences. It described Sutherland as having a difficult upbringing involving neglect and substance use.
Facts of the cases
According to an agreed statement of facts filed in court, Sutherland entered a woman’s home in Norman Wells brandishing a knife at around noon on September 11, 2024, a purple bandana covering his face.
Sutherland told the three women in the home at the time he was looking for a man, who was not present, and said the man had “ripped [him] off.”
Sutherland then went to a house next door, kicked the front door, stabbed the door with a knife, and told the woman who was alone inside that he would kill her if she was hiding the man. He then walked away.
Several days later, after midnight on September 22, 2024, a group of people including Sutherland, McCauley and Wheeler, some of whom were masked, broke into a man’s home. Sutherland had a knife with him.
A member of the group other than Sutherland or Wheeler sprayed the man with bear spray and shot him in the thigh with a crossbow. In response, the man grabbed an axe and struck Wheeler in the neck with the claw of the axe head.
The group fled the home while carrying Wheeler outside.
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Responding RCMP officers found Wheeler face down, bleeding profusely from a stab wound on the left side of his neck. He told officers he could not move his legs.
Both Wheeler and the man who was shot with a crossbow were medevaced to Yellowknife for treatment.
As a result of the incident, Wheeler has paraplegia and requires the use of a wheelchair. He has moved away from Norman Wells as the community is not wheelchair accessible.
Wheeler was convicted of being unlawfully in a dwelling house and given an 18-month conditional sentence. He is prohibited from possessing firearms for 10 years.
The Crown withdrew additional charges against Wheeler of possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, disguising his face with the intent to commit an offence, and assault with a weapon.
McCauley, 25, was convicted of possessing a crossbow for the purpose of committing an offence and was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment in December 2024. He is prohibited from possessing firearms for five years.
The Crown withdrew additional charges against McCauley of breaking and entering with intent to commit an offence, possessing bear spray for the purpose of committing an offence, aggravated assault, and disguising his face with the intent to commit an offence.
