- Anne Finlay-Stewart, Editor

On September 10 this year, Clarence Solomon, a member of Chippewas of Nawash at Neyaashiinigmiing, was identified as the victim of a fatal shooting four days earlier on Saugeen First Nation. The OPP had arrested and charged 22 year old Austin Cubitt with Second Degree Murder.

Austin Cubitt was arrested, following a manhunt, after two people were shot in Hamilton on September 3, 2017 when he was 19. He was subsequently charged, according to media reports at the time, with discharging a weapon for a dangerous purpose, two counts of aggravated assault,  and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

The Owen Sound Hub followed up on the outcome of the 2017 case to understand where Cubitt might have been between then and the shooting at Saugeen.

Today the Crown Attorney's office in Hamilton provided the following information:

“Court staff have conducted a search of the court case tracking system using the information provided, and can advise that on March 19, 2019, the accused [Cubitt] pleaded guilty to possession of prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition s. 95(2). The accused received 450 days credit for pre-sentence custody and was sentenced to an additional 10 days jail and three years probation.

On the same date, two charges of discharge firearm with intent to wound s. 244(2), two charges of aggravated assault s. 268, and one charge of possession of firearm knowing its possession is unauthorized s. 92(3) against the accused were withdrawn.”

By this record, Cubitt was approximately halfway through his three years of probation – the maximum length of a probation order in Ontario – at the time of the Saugeen shooting.

photo credit: Andrew Collins