Breadcrumb Trail Links
News Crime
“You don’t even have to do anything to warrant being attacked by this guy. He can just attack anyone.”
Article content
A man who stabbed a woman in the neck in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce seven years ago while he was on probation for killing a man has been returned behind bars because he is alleged to have assaulted two men he served time with.
Mathew Roberge, 33, was declared a long-term offender in 2018 when he was also sentenced to a seven-year prison term for having stabbed Smadar Brandes in the neck on Jan. 27, 2016.
Advertisement 2
Article content
Article content
Roberge did not know Brandes. When he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault five years ago, he said he had consumed a lot of drugs and was riding on the métro when he got into an argument with a person. He also said that when when he exited at Villa Maria station — near where Brandes was stabbed on Monkland Ave. — he somehow confused her with the person he had argued with.
At the time of the attack, Roberge was still serving a 19-month sentence he received on Sept. 18, 2014, for having killed a man outside a bar in Laval.
When the time he had already served was factored into his sentence in 2018, Roberge was left with a prison term of less than 42 months. The long-term offender designation meant the Parole Board of Canada could impose surveillance conditions on Roberge for up to eight years after his prison term expired in December 2021.
According to a recent decision made by the parole board, Roberge has been a headache for parole officers since the prison term expired. The first sign of trouble came last summer while Roberge was ordered to reside at a halfway house. He overdosed on GHB and had to be taken to a hospital.
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
In January, Roberge became aggressive while undergoing a search at a halfway house. He punched walls and threw things, behaviour that caused him to be returned to a penitentiary for a brief period. He was released back to a halfway house the following month.
Most recently, he was charged at the Montreal courthouse with assault and uttering threats. He is alleged to have assaulted a former fellow inmate while both were riding in the métro in April. He was residing at a halfway house on Ogilvy Ave. when the alleged assault took place and was returned to a federal penitentiary in May following his arrest by the Montreal police.
Roberge told authorities that he was acting in self defence. He is scheduled to make his first court appearance on the new charges on Aug. 23.
On Monday, Brandes told the Montreal Gazette that she found the fact the alleged assault took place on the métro to be very disturbing.
“This is just the latest in a string of indications that he is obviously not rehabilitating and does not belong in society,” Brandes said. “I have personally not been back on the métro since this happened to me. I was lucky enough that, during the pandemic, I was working from home. Now, I’m going to have to go back into the office — luckily not every day of the week.
Advertisement 4
Article content
“You don’t even have to do anything to warrant being attacked by this guy. He can just attack anyone.”
The parole board has asked that Roberge also be charged with having violated the conditions imposed on him as a long-term offender because he failed to report his arrest for the alleged assault to his parole officers. The board is of “the opinion that no program of supervision can adequately protect society against the risk of reoffending that you present and that, to all appearances, the conditions of supervision have not been observed.”
He is also being investigated as a suspect in an assault on another inmate that occurred on June 5.
“Along with other inmates, you broke into the cell of the victim who was assaulted by his fellow inmates. Your (case management team) mentions they do now know your degree of involvement in this incident, but you were identified as being the instigator for the purpose of committing the assault,” the board noted in its decision.
pcherry@postmedia.com
Release revoked for convict who stabbed N.D.G. woman in the street
Crown mistakenly told judge during sentencing that Mathew Roberge had no criminal record
Comments
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.
Join the Conversation