A dangerous offender hearing continues in November for a man who murdered a man in 2015 and beat up a fellow prisoner while behind bars.
In the spring, the Alberta Attorney General approved an application from Red Deer’s Crown prosecutor office to have Chad Alexander Kulba declared a dangerous offender.
It is rare, but Crown prosecutors can apply to a sentencing judge to have a criminal deemed either a dangerous or a long-term offender when there is evidence that the risk is high of further serious violence.
Kulba pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to seven years in prison in November 2017 for the gruesome murder of a 46-year-old Red Deer man on Christmas Day 2015.
He admitted stabbing Thomas Braconnier, 46, repeatedly in a frenzied drug- and alcohol-fuelled attack in a downtown apartment building.
Braconnier tried to flee, but Kulba, who was heavily intoxicated on a mix of alcohol, crystal meth and prescription drugs, chased him down the stairs.
Kulba stabbed Braconnier about 30 times, at one point using a broken-off golf club shaft as a weapon.
While in remand custody, Kulba attacked another prisoner in August 2017. He was convicted after a trial on April 10, 2018.
The dangerous offender hearing began in July for Kulba. The Crown prosecutor called two forensic psychiatrists, a forensic psychologist and a parole officer to testify.
Kulba’s defence lawyer will make his arguments before Red Deer provincial court Judge Bruce Fraser on Nov. 6.
Before that date, the Crown prosecutor and defence intend to submit written submissions to the judge outlining their arguments.
To determine someone is a dangerous offender, a judge must be convinced by psychiatric testimony or other evidence that the convicted person is likely to engage in further violent conduct.
A judge can order an indeterminate prison sentence, a set prison sentence or a sentence with a long-term supervision order. The judge can also declare Kulba a long-term offender, which calls for a sentence of at least two years plus up to 10 years of long-term supervision.
pcowley@reddeeradvocate.com
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