The man accused of a stabbing spree in Vancouver’s Crab Park Oct. 8 has already been convicted in one person’s death and also faces charges of harassment and weapons charges.
Denis Sleightholme, 42, was charged Oct. 11 with two counts of aggravated assault and one count of possession of a weapon in the park incidents.
The Vancouver Police Department said officers were patrolling near the waterfront around 3 a.m. when two victims fled the park and approached police for help. A 911 call came about the same time reporting a man stabbing random people at a homeless encampment.
Three victims suffered serious injuries, including stab wounds and punctured organs. Police said there could be other victims.
The latest allegations are part of a long list of brushes with the law, the most grave being the death of Dominic Boateng.
Sleightholme was convicted in that August 2015 death after a stabbing outside the Insite supervised injection facility on East Hastings. It was video evidence that helped to secure a verdict of murder rather than manslaughter.
He was sentenced to four years.
Court documents show he is also charged in a July incident with failing to comply with a release order by allegedly having a sword in his possession, assaulting a police officer and possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace.
He is also facing two charges of uttering threats and harassment of family members in connection with September 2021 incidents in Port Coquitlam. He has a long history of criminal charges or convictions across the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island.
Sleightholme returns to court on Oct. 25 for a bail hearing.
