Gang member who shot rival, bystander back in prison after release revoked

A Winnipeg man who shot a rival teenage gangster and an innocent 11-year-old bystander at the crowded Red River Exhibition more than four years ago has been sent back to prison.

Mocree Chuck Scatch-Dubour, now in his early 20s, left prison in April on statutory release on his 5 1/2-year federal sentence for the 2022 shooting. Scatch-Dubour was sentenced to the prison term as an adult in the spring of 2023 after pleading guilty to discharge of a firearm with intent to wound, aggravated assault and possession of a restricted firearm.

By law, most federal inmates automatically receive statutory release after two-thirds of their sentence, if they have not already been paroled.

Parole Board of Canada officials formally revoked Scatch-Dubour’s release this month after he unlawfully left his halfway house in June.

“After weighing all of the information available, the board has determined that your actions while in the community were within your control and elevated your risk to an undue level,” reads the board’s recent written decision.

In the decision, parole officials said he continued to “exhibit pro-criminal attitudes” and did not plan for his future upon his release, but rather focused on his appearance and relationships with women.

Before he went missing, officials said, he had returned to the halfway house smelling of alcohol and appearing off balance.

Scatch-Dubour left his halfway house — in an unspecified Manitoba community — on June 27 and was arrested on July 14 in another province.

After he was apprehended, he told parole officials he had been out celebrating his birthday with friends when they pressured him into drinking.

He got very drunk, he told officials, and when he returned to the halfway house he grew paranoid about being sent back to prison and instead decided to run off.

“You indicate that you did attempt to contact the parole officer, but as you did not know how statutory release worked you did not turn yourself in,” reads the parole decision.

“You acknowledged that you need help but were unable to identify what type of help or in which areas of your life help would benefit. When advised that revocation was being recommended, your tone changed and you stated that you do not need help.”

Scatch-Dubour was just eight days shy of his 18th birthday on June 20, 2022, when he shot a 16-year-old member of a rival gang in the abdomen at the fairgrounds on the western edge of Winnipeg, sending frightened bystanders scrambling for cover.

The bullet that struck Scatch-Dubour’s rival exited his body and hit an 11-year-old boy who just happened to be nearby. Both victims survived.

Prior to his statutory release, Scatch-Dubour remained a high-ranking member of an unspecified gang.

He actively recruited new members to the gang while in provincial jail awaiting court and had a large number of “loyal followers” in prison before his release in the spring.

But in the recent decision, parole officials said he has been “actively engaged” in his correctional plan since his return to prison, with a parole officer telling the board he has been easy to work with.

Scatch-Dubour told the board he was staying out of trouble and engaging in cultural activities. He also said he felt he had been making progress while on release.

He has been transferred to another federal prison as a result of unspecified concerns for his safety.

Scatch-Dubour has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, reactive attachment disorder, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, the decision said. He got entrenched in a criminal lifestyle at a young age, officials say.

At Scatch-Dubour’s recent parole hearing, officials also imposed special conditions to go into effect when he reaches statutory release at a future date.

He will again have to reside at a halfway house — though none in Manitoba will take him — and abide by various conditions.

erik.pindera@winnipegfreepress.com