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‘Impulsive and violent’ B.C. killer gets extra 90 days for spitting on official

Justin Carte spit on correctional manager while serving time for slicing stranger’s neck
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The Parole Board of Canada handed Victoria killer Justin Carte an extra 90 days in prison after he spit on a correctional manager in March 2021. (Black Press Media file photo)

A Victoria man in prison for the 2016 stabbing death of 20-year-old Raphael Bussieres will serve an extra 90 days after spitting on his correctional manager.

Justin Carte was sentenced to seven and a half years for manslaughter in January 2018.

The court found that just after midnight on Nov. 26, 2016, Carte, who was high on drugs, ran into Bussieres on Douglas Street. Carte didn’t know Bussieres, but followed him across the street toward McDonald’s restaurant before grabbing him and severing his carotid artery with a stab wound to his neck.

Carte was quickly arrested. Bussières died in hospital, two days later.

Several years into Carte’s sentence, the Parole Board of Canada said his tendency to turn to violence remains.

In March 2021, Carte, now 32, assaulted a correctional manager by spitting on them when they informed him of a transfer. He has since been sentenced to an additional 90 days in prison for the offence.

According to the parole board, Carte’s case management team said that sort of behaviour is not new.

“You are considered to be unpredictable, impulsive and violent in the community, as well as towards CSC (Correctional Service of Canada) staff members and other inmates,” the board wrote in its Jan. 4 letter to Carte confirming his detention until the end of his extended sentence.

READ ALSO: Victoria man sentenced to seven years in stabbing of 20-year-old Quebec man

The board noted Carte has severe mental health problems, but has refused to comply with voluntary treatment or engage with his correctional plan. In June 2021, the board issued a three-year involuntary treatment order.

A psychologist’s assessment of Carte’s file in March 2021 determined that if he were released under then-current circumstances he would very likely resume substance use, his mental state would rapidly deteriorate, and his likelihood of violently reoffending would increase.

“As such, the Board is of the opinion that there are still grounds to believe that you will commit an offence causing death or serious harm to another person prior to the legal expiry of your sentence,” the board letter concluded. “Under these circumstances, the Board amends the detention order until the expiration of your sentence including the additional sentence, to prevent any release.”

READ ALSO: Resident scares off man committing indecent act on Saanich deck


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About the Author: Jane Skrypnek

I'm a provincial reporter for Black Press Media after starting as a community reporter in Greater Victoria.
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