Man given 5 year sentence for fatal 2021 booze fueled fight in Regina home

Warning: The following article contains details some may find disturbing. 

A now 23-year-old man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and will serve a total of five years behind bars for the 2021 death of a 43-year-old man in Regina after an alcohol fueled fight in the basement of a home.

Reagan MacDonald was arrested on Oct. 21, 2021 at a home on the 900 block of King Street and charged with manslaughter after a fatal altercation with Mitchell Anthony during a night of drinking and several trips to the Jolly Roger off-sale to pick up alcohol.

Anthony was pronounced dead at the scene and the case became Regina’s 11th homicide investigation of 2021.

Court documents show that MacDonald, Anthony and Anthony’s spouse Joanne Campeau were drinking at the King Street residence and became intoxicated throughout the night with three trips made to the Jolly Roger off-sale.

According to the document, MacDonald and Anthony got into an altercation shortly after 9 p.m. that night in the basement of the home that led to MacDonald using a fiberglass cast he had on his wrist as a weapon after accusing Anthony of trying to use a pen as a weapon against him.

Anthony’s spouse took a video of some of the altercation that showed MacDonald choking Anthony out with his casted arm and kneeing him 11 times in the face and side of the head.

An agreed statement of facts in the court document described what was recorded:

• 00:00 – Accused has victim in headlock and is on top of him from behind. Says something about victim using a pen against him.
• 00:08 – Victim gets out of headlock. Accused knees the victim 11 times in the right side of his head and face.
• 00:49 – Both men get to their feet and exchange punches. Victim seen punching accused four times.
• 00:57 – Accused takes victim to the ground by wrapping up his left leg.
• 01:08 – Accused applies neck restraint to the victim using his casted arm.
• 01:14 – Accused wraps his legs around the victim. Victim “taps out” by tapping the accused two times on his left side with his right hand.
• 01:19 – Victim attempts to roll himself onto his side to, presumably, get out of the hold.
• 01:24 – Victim attempts to “tap out” again, tapping the floor twice.
• 01:29 – Victim is heard groaning and struggling to breathe.
• 01:33 – Victim taps several times on the accused’s left shoulder.
• 01:38 – Victim’s left hand is seen going limp on the floor.
• 01:41 – A groaning exhale is heard from the Victim. Accused still has his casted arm around the victim’s neck.
• 01:48 – Accused heard to say “… Mitchell, I had to put you out.” Accused still has his casted arm around victim’s neck.
• 01:51 – Video stops with accused still having his casted arm across victim’s neck.

The video did not show Anthony using a pen as a weapon but both sides agreed he jabbed a pen into the leg of MacDonald at the start of the altercation, the document says.

A pen could also be seen in Anthony’s possession at the onset of the recording.

Campeau then sent a video of Anthony lying motionless on the floor via Snapchat to her daughter before calling 911 more than 20 minutes after the incident depicted in the video had occurred, the document reads.

Anthony was pronounced dead at the scene by EMS around 9:44 p.m.

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The document says an autopsy showed Anthony had several superficial injuries on his head, neck, face, torso, and upper extremities. The internal examination of his neck showed that there were several injuries consistent with external neck compression and resulting asphyxiation.

Toxicology results revealed that Anthony had a blood alcohol level of 182 mg% (0.182 blood alcohol content), and it could not be ruled out that acute ethanol toxicity was a contributing cause of death. It could also not be ruled out that positional asphyxia was a contributing cause of death.

Following sentencing submissions from both sides, Justice M.J Morris determined that MacDonald would be sentenced to five years in prison and credited with 96 days of time served. MacDonald will serve an additional 1,729 days which amounts to just over four years and seven months.

MacDonald will also be banned from possessing any firearm, crossbow, restricted weapon, ammunition, or explosive substance for 10 years.

Both MacDonald and the defence agreed to a statement of facts that is included in the document.