A Halifax man with a lengthy criminal record, a pattern of violence and past ties to a white supremacist group was declared a violent offender yesterday.
Christopher Edward Newhook will now stay in jail indefinitely.
The most recent of Newhook’s approximately 50 criminal convictions occurred in 2007, when he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault. Newhook knocked on the door of Halifax resident Chris Dempsey, and when it opened he stabbed Dempsey in the forehead.
Newhook accused the man of ratting him out over a noise complaint.
Yesterday at Halifax provincial court, Newhook was deemed to be such a high risk to the community that he cannot be released.
His violent past includes several attacks against minority groups and taking part in a brawl with an anti-racism group in Toronto in 1993. Newhook reportedly chased an unarmed man with a baseball bat emblazoned with a swastika.
