Manitoba judge raised concerns in 2021 about gaps in care for man now accused in fatal Christmas fire

A year before a deadly Christmas Day apartment fire in Winnipeg, a judge said she was concerned the man now accused of setting the fire wasn't receiving enough support to keep him and the community safe.

Ethan Powderhorn, 26, has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder and four counts of arson with disregard for human life after an early morning fire at the Warwick Apartments, on Qu'Appelle Avenue at Carlton Street, trapped multiple residents in their suites.

Six people were taken to hospital after the Dec. 25 fire, two of whom later died.

A year earlier, Powderhorn appeared in a specialized court for people with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder to plead guilty to two counts of arson, along with charges of mischief and possession of a weapon, for incidents that had happened months before.

At the Nov. 18, 2021, court hearing, Powderhorn admitted to setting a mattress on fire in a Sherbrook Street alley, and then a garage in the same area. That fire spread to a neighbouring house, but nobody was hurt in either of those fires.

Powderhorn told police after he was arrested that he had been "wronged" by people who lived at the locations where he set the fires, Crown attorney Jodi Koffman said at the hearing.

Provincial court Judge Heather Pullan expressed concerns that Powderhorn, who has a guardian through the provincial government, was highly vulnerable due to his FASD, was impulsive and required a lot of support.

"I'm really worried about gaps," Pullan said at the hearing. "The impression is that [the guardian's office is] very hands off, which is troubling."

Omri Plotnik, Powderhorn's defence lawyer, echoed concerns that the guardian's role in his client's life was limited.

"It doesn't need to be limited," Pullan said. "There is an opportunity of enhancing their involvement, and that's a matter of some concern."

Bryan Hyman, who works with Manitoba's Public Guardian and Trustee department, told the hearing his office doesn't have the capacity or the community contacts to provide the very detailed and personalized support people like Powderhorn need, and often delegates to other agencies.

Support after release

Powderhorn was released from custody on Nov. 18, 2021, after his hearing, having already served several months in prison. Corrections officers were instructed to drop him off at the Salvation Army shelter, where he could sleep before his appointment with a parole officer the next day.

Pullan made it clear in the hearing that whoever brought Powderhorn to the shelter should ensure he got inside, got settled and connected with staff before they left him there, but the judge said she still wasn't confident in the plan.

Plotnik said Powderhorn would receive some supports through the non-profit Turning Leaf Support Services after his release, including help to find longer-term housing.

"This is FASD court, and by its nature we deal with vulnerable people," Judge Pullan said at the hearing.

"Putting aside the fact that Mr. Powderhorn has some special challenges, I think there's a role here for making sure things happen the way we all want them to in the community."

A representative from the province's Community Living DisAbility Services told the court that there were limited supports available to Powderhorn because of the nature of his charges and his history of violence.

Powderhorn lived in Kenora before moving to Winnipeg.

At age 18, he was "essentially left to his own devices, became criminally involved, and began using illegal substances," Koffman said.

At that point, he was "extremely low functioning," said Koffman. "He's had many challenges."

Court heard he had gone to the emergency room eight times in a two-week period in December 2020 for drug overdoses, and once needed eight doses of naloxone to recover.

At the 2021 hearing, Pullan asked the defence lawyer what orders would be put in place "in terms of supervising and controlling [Powderhorn's] release so that he's safe, and the community as a consequence is safe."

Plotnik suggested the support from Turning Leaf would hopefully curb any criminal tendencies.

"At the very least he's going to have people who are dedicated to helping him," the lawyer said.

Powderhorn was still serving a two-year probation for his 2021 offences last month, when police allege he set two fires at the Warwick Apartments in the early hours of Christmas Day.

The first, which happened around 2 a.m., was quickly put out by firefighters, but the second fire, around 4 a.m., left three people in critical condition and one person in unstable condition. Two others were also taken to hospital.

Two people — Roger Glen Doblej, 63, and Suzanne Helen McCooeye, 70 — later died of their injuries, police said.

The others taken to hospital were three men and one woman, ranging in age from 47 to 79.

The charges against Powderhorn in connection with the fires haven't been proven in court.