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The sentencing hearing for a London man who pleaded guilty to a random attack on a stranger on Richmond Row has been delayed pending a potential order for a psychiatric assessment.
Jose Lopes-Cajina, who pled guilty to aggravated assault in the brutal stabbing of a driver waiting at a rail crossing on Richmond Street, will be back in court later this week after concerns about his mental state were raised at his sentencing hearing Monday before Justice George Orsini in the Ontario Court of Justice.
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“His behaviour and his interactions with me, in my view, are suggestive of someone who is experiencing schizophrenia,” defence lawyer Keli Mersereau told the court.
Mersereau said she does not think her client’s apparent mental health iss6ue had impaired his fitness to stand trial, but mentioned ongoing concerns about their interactions.
“During many of my discussions with my client, it’s very evident to me that he has a major mental health disorder that has yet to be diagnosed,” she said.
“The court may decide that it would benefit the court if there was an assessment. . . . I would expect that there would be significant information that could assist us with sentencing.”
Lopes-Cajina was arrested in March 2023 for the random attack on a driver waiting for a train to pass at the level crossing on Richmond Street near Piccadilly Street.
Lopes-Cajina got into the back seat of the car and used his left arm to restrain the driver, while stabbing him with his right. He revealed at his plea hearing that he was looking for $60 to get home to Toronto.
The driver, an older man, was rushed to London Health Sciences Centre with critical injuries that required surgery. He spent 10 days in hospital.
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Lopes-Cajina fled the scene on a northbound city bus. Police used surveillance footage from the bus in their public appeal for his arrest. A London Transit driver spotted Lopes-Cajina the following day waiting at a south London bus stop and called police.
In April, Lopes-Cajina pleaded not guilty to attempted murder but guilty to the lesser offence of aggravated assault. At the time, Mersereau said she believed there was a “significant mental health issue” at play.
Before the mental health assessment issue was raised, the defence on Monday had asked for a five- or six-year sentence minus time spent in custody pre-plea. A five-year sentence would mean Lopes-Cajina would spend 973 additional days in custody, while a six-year sentence would be an extra 1,338 days.
Assistant Crown attorney James Spangenberg said he was not completely surprised by the discussion of Lopes-Cajina mental health status at the sentencing.
Lopes-Cajina returns to court on Wednesday.
jbieman@postmedia.com
@JenatLFPress
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