Former Bandido biker sues jail and Queen for more than $2M for ‘loss of dignity, pain and suffering’

By PETER EDWARDSStar Reporter

Thu., Jan. 5, 2017

None of the allegations filed with the Superior Court of Justice in Toronto have been proven in court.

The province has until January 23 to reply to the allegations.

Aragon is currently an inmate at the Toronto East Jail.

Aragon belonged to the Bandidos at the time of the 2006 massacre of six members and associates by fellow members and associates in a barn west of London, Ont.

He was in custody for his role in the death of Keswick drug dealer Shawn Douse at the time of the massacre.

Aragon was transferred to the Toronto East Detention Centre from Lindsay in August.

He is awaiting sentencing after he was convicted of aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon and uttering death threats.

His sentencing has been delayed as the Crown has sought a dangerous offender designation for him.

His statement of claim alleges he’s suffering from “loss of general enjoyment of life” and an inability to “sustain interpersonal relationships” as a result of his jail time.

“The Defendant, Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario… is responsible and liable for the actions occurring within The Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services…,” Aragon’s statement of claim states.

“Her Majesty is vicariously liable for the negligence and/or breaches rights of the Plaintiff,” he alleges.

Aragon alleges that his “basic human rights” are violated by his daily jail schedule, which includes being locked in his cell for breakfast, lunch and supper, as well as overnight.

“The Plaintiff was subjected to extremely invasive strip searches on an abnormally frequent basis,” his statement of claim alleges. “These strip searches resulted in increased anxiety, psychological damage, depression and nightmares. The excessive and invasive strip searching was demeaning, unnecessary and cruel treatment. Random cell searches were deliberately destructive, leaving cells in a state of disarray, with personal items left broken and/or missing.”

He also claims that an inadequate diet has left him “constantly hungry” and suffering from “depression, weight gain, inability to concentrate, difficulty sleeping and other health problems.”

Other complaints include lack of timely medical care, poor air quality, not enough showers, limited telephone time, lack of mental stimuli in the form of reading matter and radio and television, and shoes that aren’t adequate for his exercise needs.

He argues these conditions violate what the United Nations General Assembly calls the “Mandela rules,” named for the poor conditions experienced by the late Nelson Mandela when he was in custody.

In January 2008, Aragon was one of four men connected to the Bandidos who were sentenced to penitentiary terms after pleading guilty to the fatal beating of Douse.

Whitby court heard that Aragon and the other bikers ignored Douse’s pleas for mercy after he was lured to a townhouse in Keswick on Dec. 6, 2005.

“This was a vicious, senseless, callous and cowardly killing,” Mr. Justice Edwin Minden said before passing sentence.

That sentencing came months after the U.S.-based Bandidos closed their Canadian chapters after a spate of criminal convictions.

Court heard a T-shirt was stuffed into Douse’s throat to kill him after he was beaten unconscious.

Aragon pleaded guilty to aggravated assault for his role in Douse’s death and was sentenced to three years and 11 months in custody.

Douse’s body was found in a North Pickering field on Dec. 8, 2005 by a man walking his dogs.

He had been set on fire and his hands and feet were bound. His mouth was gagged and a bag was over his head.