Re Lucas Kleingeld, 2025 CanLII 42662

Ontario Review Board

Re: Lucas Kleingeld

ORB File No: 8672

Hearing held on: Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Place of hearing: Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care 500 Church Street, Penetanguishene

Pursuant to: Section 672.47(1) of the Criminal Code

Before: Alternate Chairperson: Mr. M.D. Segal Members: Dr. K. Hand Dr. G. Kerry Ms. M. Chamberlain Mr. J. Cyr

Parties Appearing: Accused: Lucas Kleingeld Counsel: Mr. A. Schieck

The person in charge of hospital: Representative: Ms. M. Kraftscik

Attorney General of Ontario: Counsel: Mr. D. Chronopoulos (via Zoom)

REASONS FOR DISPOSITION

(Dated May 6, 2025)

Please see underlined changes to original Reasons made May 8, 2025: Dr. Van Imp has been corrected to read “Dr. Van Impe”.

1. On November 21, 2024, Lucas Kleingeld was found unfit to stand trial on account of mental disorder on charges of fail to comply with undertaking, assault with a weapon and carry weapon for dangerous purpose, all contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada (the “Criminal Code”). Mr. Kleingeld was ordered to be detained at the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care (“Waypoint “or the “Hospital”) pursuant to a Warrant of Committal issued by Justice R.W. Rogerson on November 21, 2014 to await his initial hearing before the Ontario Review Board.

2. On Wednesday, April 2, 2025, the Ontario Review Board convened a hearing at Waypoint pursuant to s. 672.47(1) of the Criminal Code to make an initial Disposition. Mr. Kleingeld was in attendance and was represented by his counsel, Mr. Schieck.

Position of the Parties

3. Counsel for the Hospital submitted that Mr. Kleingeld remained unfit to stand trial and should be detained at Waypoint with the following conditions and privileges:

• Attend within or outside of the Hospital for necessary medical, dental, legal or compassionate purposes;
• Hospital and grounds privileges, beyond the secure perimeter, escorted by staff;
• Refrain from having in his possession any firearm, ammunition, or other offensive weapons, or being in the company of any person possessing a firearm other than a peace officer; and
• Refrain from contact or communication, direct or indirect, with Doris Thiessen and Alfred Thiessen, unless with their written, revocable consent.

4. Counsel for the Attorney General was in agreement with the Hospital’s position. Counsel for Mr. Kleingeld indicated that he was unable to take a position on behalf of his client.

Background and Index Offence:

5. The Hospital Report sets out in detail Mr. Kleingeld’s background and has been considered by the Board. Briefly, Mr. Kleingeld is 45 years of age and carries a diagnosis of schizophrenia. He was born in Guelph and was raised in a split home as his parents separated when he was 8 years of age.

6. Mr. Kleingeld completed high school and began post-secondary education, studying education and accounting. He did not complete his post-secondary studies.

7. Throughout his adult life, Mr. Kleingeld worked in restaurants, offices, and hotels. He has reportedly been unemployed since approximately 2012. He has been financially supported by ODSP in the past.

8. The circumstances of the index offence are taken from the Hospital Report dated January 17, 2025, as follows:

“On the 3rd of December, 2022, the accused, Lucas KLEINGELD attended the residence of Doris, the victim, and Alfred THIESSEN, KLEINGELD'S extended family members.

While present in the home, KLEINGELD armed himself with a nearby kitchen knife and without provocation, or reason, attacked the victim by while holding the knife in a reverse grip and attempting to stab her in a downward motion.

The victim was able to defend herself and with the assistance of her husband, Alfred. KLEINGELD was restrained until the arrival of police.

The victim suffered minor injuries; cut to hand, shoulder, bleeding mouth as a result of the attack.

KLEINGELD was placed under arrest by Provincial Constable BELL at 2242 hrs and read his rights to counsel and cautioned. KLEINGELD indicated he understood and indicated he would speak with a lawyer at the Fergus Detachment.

KLEINGELD is charged with Assault with a Weapon contrary to section 267(a) of the Criminal Code, and Possession of a Weapon for a Dangerous Purpose, contrary to section 88 of the Criminal Code.

KLEINGELD is known to suffer from mental health issues and has been clinically diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic.

KLEINGELD was apprehended under the mental health act and taken to the Groves Community Hospital in Fergus, for further assessment.

At approximately 1300 hrs, KLEINGELD was formed by Dr. PHILLIPS and accepted into the facility. KLEINGELD will be sent to the Homewood facility in Guelph for further treatment.

As KLEINGELD is under the supervision of the mental health system, a warrant in the first instance is requested for his arrest.”

Evidence at Hearing:

9. The evidence at the hearing consisted of a Hospital Report dated January 17, 2025, an Updated Hospital Report dated March 5, 2025, a Fitness Update dated March 26, 2025 as well as the testimony of Dr. Van Impe.

10. Dr. Van Impe testified that he had read and was in agreement with the Hospital Reports and Fitness Update Report. He last assessed Mr. Kleingeld’s fitness the week before the hearing as well as the morning of the hearing. He found Mr. Kleingeld to be slightly improved but still clearly unfit.

11. The doctor reported that it was difficult to gather that information from Mr. Kleingeld as he does not think that Dr. Van Impe should be able to ask him any questions about the law or his charges. It appears that he knows what he has been charged with but is not willing to discuss it with staff at the Hospital. Mr. Kleingeld seems to believe that he is serving a sentence currently and gets angry if he is told that this is not the case. He feels that he has been treated unfairly and says that he has been a victim of mistaken identity. Dr. Van Impe noted that Mr. Kleingeld seems to have a good rapport with the staff and goes off the unit without issue.

12. Mr. Kleingeld can correctly answer some of the Taylor test questions; for example, he can identify the pleas available to him and understands what a judge does. The larger issue is Mr. Kleingeld’s ability to instruct counsel as he becomes so angry when anyone tries to discuss his charges or the court matter with him. His ability to meaningfully participate in a trial would also be very poor.

13. Hospital staff do not discuss his fitness with Mr. Kleingeld as he responds so poorly to this. This makes fitness coaching difficult. Dr. Van Impe believes that with medication, Mr. Kleingeld’s mental health will stabilize and, at that time, fitness coaching could be helpful.

14. Dr. Van Impe confirmed that he will continue to assess Mr. Kleingeld and he is hopeful that he will continue to improve. The doctor confirmed that if Mr. Kleingeld were to become fit, the Hospital would notify the ORB. Dr. Van Impe was unwilling to put a timeline on how long it would take for Mr. Kleingeld to become fit as it has already taken longer than expected.

15. The doctor was confident that Mr. Kleingeld could become fit in time, although he noted that he was surprised that it was taking so long. Mr. Kleingeld was still experiencing psychotic symptoms and feelings of persecution. The Hospital will continue to work with Mr. Kleingeld’s mother, his substitute decision maker, to optimize his medication levels.

16. Dr. Van Impe noted that, in the past, Mr. Kleingeld has had a robust reaction to medication and it was unclear why it was taking so long now for him to have a positive reaction to his current treatment. Mr. Kleingeld had just begun taking Olanzapine the week prior to the hearing in addition to Paliperidone, which he had been taking since admission. The doctor was hopeful that they would see some improvements in the coming weeks.

17. Dr. Van Impe explained that the Hospital was requesting a detention at Waypoint due to the serious nature of the alleged offence and the fact that Mr. Kleingeld has spent much of his time at Waypoint in seclusion. The doctor noted that Mr. Kleingeld gets irritated very easily and can become aggressive. The Hospital is early in the process of treating Mr. Kleingeld and Dr. Van Impe felt that his risk could not be managed elsewhere at this time. Currently, Mr. Kleingeld is able to leave the unit for up to two hours at a time and is able to engage in vocational services.

Final Submissions:

18. Ms. Kraftscik maintained the Hospital’s position at the conclusion of the hearing, namely, that Mr. Kleingeld remains unfit to stand trial. She submitted that he continues to require his current Detention Order and noted that he had spent most of his time since July in seclusion. Mr. Chronopoulos joined the Hospital. Mr. Schiek stated that his client feels the unfairness of his circumstances. He pointed to the fact that Mr. Kleingeld has made some positive improvements. He expressed his client’s hope that this progress would continue and he would not be in this spot much longer.

Findings of the Board:

Evidence with respect to fitness to stand trial

19. The Hospital Report addresses Mr. Kleingeld’s fitness to stand trial as follows:

“Staff periodically attempted to engage Mr. Kleingeld in discussions about his legal circumstances. He invariably presented with mistrust of the court process, impacted by his persecutory delusions, and this occasionally evoked feelings of hostility and anger. He often either outright denied his charges or alternatively suggested they had been dealt with. At times he struggled to maintain focus, and provided irrelevant or nonsensical answers to questions asked”.

20. The Updated Hospital Report, the Fitness Update as well as in the testimony of Dr. Van Impe reaffirmed the above observations.

Evidence with respect to necessary and appropriate Disposition

21. The Hospital Report notes the following:

“Mr. Kleingeld had been secluded on January 6, 2025, and remained in seclusion on January 14, 2025. It was additionally learned that there had been unforeseen complications in terms of initiating treatment, and that Mr. Kleingeld remained untreated. … the clinical team opined that Mr. Kleingeld requires a higher level of care than that which could be offered at a less secure facility, especially in his current untreated state.”

22. Dr. Van Impe told the Board that the clinical team is of the view that Mr. Kleingeld requires a Detention Order at this time. This will allow the Hospital to work towards optimal treatment of his residual psychotic symptoms in the hope that he will become fit in the coming year.

Analysis and Conclusions

Fitness To Stand Trial

23. The evidence establishes that Mr. Kleingeld remains unfit to stand trial on account of mental disorder. The Board accepts the assessment of fitness contained in the Hospital Reports and testimony of Dr. Van Impe. Mr. Kleingeld is able to correctly answer some of the fitness test questions and has a very rudimentary understanding of the nature and object of the proceedings and potential outcomes. However, the evidence is also clear that because of his disorganized thought processes, Mr. Kleingeld is unable to discuss his charges with his treatment team and is not able to instruct counsel. Further, he would not be able to meaningfully participate in any proceedings.

Necessary and Appropriate Disposition

24. The Board accepts the recommendation of counsel for the Hospital that Mr. Kleingeld be detained at Waypoint with the following privileges:

a) Attend within or outside of the hospital for necessary medical, dental, legal or compassionate purposes;

b) Hospital and grounds privileges, beyond the secure perimeter, escorted by staff;

c) Refrain from having in his possession any firearm, ammunition, or other offensive weapons, or being in the company of any person possessing a firearm other than a peace officer; and

d) Refrain from contact or communication, direct or indirect, with Doris Thiessen and Alfred Thiessen, unless with their written, revocable consent.

25. The Board agrees that, given the level of intervention required by Hospital staff, Mr. Kleingeld should remain at the High Secure Forensic unit at Waypoint.

DATED this 6th day of May 2025, at the City of Toronto, in the Toronto Region.

Ms. M. Chamberlain Legal Member Office of the Registrar Ontario Review Board