A Prince George veteran of the Canadian military was sentenced Tuesday to two years probation for uttering threats to hold a Veterans Affairs Canada office hostage and possessing a prohibited firearm.
At the time he had committed the offences in mid-2014, Anthony Jerome Manuge, 52, was "struggling with every aspect of his life," Prince George provincial court judge Judith Doulis said.
After a decade in the Canadian Armed Forces, which he joined upon graduating from high school, Manuge was honourably discharged in 1990 and began a career as a certified computer systems engineer.
But from his time in the military he was suffering chronic pain from various injuries and from various psychological troubles, including post traumatic stress disorder. By 2004, Manuge could no longer work and began receiving benefits from Veterans Affairs.
In March 2014, Veterans Affairs discovered it had accidentally overpaid Manuge for two months and reclaimed the additional money. For Manuge, it turned his financial situation from "bad to desperate."
He appealed the Veterans Affairs decision but was dissatisfied with the outcome and began sending a series of angry emails to various destinations, including his younger brother, Dennis, who lives in Nova Scotia.
Also a veteran, Dennis was the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit that led to a $900-million settlement in 2013 on behalf of disabled veterans whose long-term disability benefits were reduced by the amount of the monthly disability pension they received.
Rather than acting as a "sober voice of reason," Dennis played a significant role in "winding up" Manuge, Doulis commented.
Matters came to a head on April 17, 2014, when in an email to Dennis, Manuge suggested they go to Charlottetown and hold 1,100 Veterans Affairs employees hostage for the Easter long weekend to make their point.
Manuge also had comments for RCMP emergency response team who shot and killed another military veteran, Greg Matters, during a September 2012 standoff in Pineview.
"If they send the RCMP to my door, I can get some payback for Greg," Manuge said in one email. "Unlike Greg, I'm not afraid, I'm determined. I'm the ERT's worst nightmare."
Manuge had copied the email to Veterans Affairs and three days later, when the Easter long weekend had ended, it was referred to the RCMP.
RCMP subsequently executed a search warrant on his home and although most of his firearms were legally owned and properly stored, they found a semi-automatic rifle with a magazine holding 22 bullets, well above the legal limit of five. They also found three other overcapacity magazines.
Doulis accepted that Manuge never intended to act on his thoughts and noted his life has improved significantly since then. Although his marriage broke down, Manuge is now receiving treatment for his physical and mental health issues.
Prior to his arrest, Manuge was a director for the Prince George Rod and Gun Club. He also used to shoot clay targets for a hobby and was vice president of the national clay target shooting association.
Manuge's probation comes with a suspended sentence and he was issued a 10-year prohibition against owning any unrestricted firearms and a lifetime prohibition against owning any restricted ones.
Manuge has "likely learned his lesson," Doulis said, and noted he's lost his firearms collection, both a valuable asset and a source of enjoyment, as a result of his offences.
Manuge sat quietly next to his lawyer as Doulis delivered her verdict. Matters' mother, Lorraine, was also in the courtroom for the decision.
