Attempted murder case won't proceed against P.E.I. man who pleaded guilty to lesser charges

The case against a Kings County man accused of attempted murder has been resolved in Georgetown with the 26-year-old pleading guilty to two charges, while the more serious charges against him were stayed.

Owen Daniel MacDonald was sentenced in provincial court on Thursday and received a total of four months in jail.

RCMP originally charged MacDonald with five counts: attempted murder, aggravated assault, assault causing bodily harm, dangerous driving causing bodily harm and dangerous driving.

But at an appearance in April, MacDonald offered a guilty plea to a common assault charge instead of assault causing bodily harm. He also pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing bodily harm.

The Crown accepted the pleas and stayed all the remaining charges. 

The court heard that MacDonald and a person close to him had an argument on the day in question back in November. They then made amends and decided to go for a drive.

MacDonald drove the two to the Greenwich area where they had a long conversation that again turned into an argument.

The woman asked MacDonald to take her home, but the situation escalated to MacDonald driving erratically — speeding, taking sharp turns and removing his eyes from the road — and speaking in "absurdities," according to an agreed statement of facts read in court. 

MacDonald eventually stopped and physically forced the woman out of the vehicle, speeding off before she had fully exited the Jeep. She was injured and got a ride home from a couple who came across her on the road. She went to the hospital and to police in the following days. 

Meanwhile, in a separate incident that same evening, police took MacDonald to the hospital under P.E.I.'s Mental Health Act.

That legislation allows officers to take a person to a facility for an involuntary medical examination if they have caused or are likely to cause harm to themselves or others because of a suspected mental disorder. 

In this case, the court heard that MacDonald has struggled with his mental health for the better part of the past decade and has had multiple psychological evaluations. 

Over a week later, MacDonald was out of hospital and the victim gave a statement about the incident to police. RCMP arrested MacDonald the same night, took him to jail and announced charges against him the next day.

When asked why such charges were laid against a person seemingly in mental health distress, P.E.I. RCMP told CBC News it does "not comment on mental health issues at any time."