Man who shot at Hamilton police, held hostage and broke into home handed 15-year sentence

A man who shot at Hamilton police, took a hostage at gunpoint and broke into a house while trying to evade arrest has been handed a 15-year penitentiary sentence, which the court noted was longer than most manslaughter sentences.

No one was shot or seriously hurt during the ordeal that unfolded over hours in Hamilton on the night of Jan. 31, 2020, but court heard about the lasting fear of those whose lives were threatened by Jamie Dryden as he tried to evade police.

He pleaded guilty in December to six charges, including shooting at police, using a gun to take a hostage, break and enter and possession of a firearm while prohibited. Two other convictions stemmed from a gun and ammunition found in a Brantford residence where he was arrested Feb. 15, 2020 after a manhunt to find the then 32-year-old.

I can't understate the seriousness of this conduct, it's nothing short of egregious," Superior Court Justice Andrew Goodman said in sentencing Dryden.

But he also noted Dryden's guilty plea and obvious remorse showed some promise for rehabilitation, despite his already lengthy criminal record.

Maybe after all this time there is a glimmer of hope," Goodman said in court Tuesday.

The 15-year sentence was a joint submission by both the Crown and defence.

Goodman took a year off Dryden's sentence because of harsh conditions in jail during the COVID-19 pandemic; Dryden kept a detailed record of lockdowns and how seldom he was allowed outside that the court accepted. With credit for time served in pretrial custody, he has 10 years and nine months remaining.

Reading from a victim impact statement, Susan Donald told the court that she has lived in her home for 68 years and always felt safe until the night she came home to find Dryden.

Jamie Dryden has taken that feeling of security away from me as well as my mother, who was 100 at the time of the attack," she said.

Dressed in black, his head shaved - showing a large tattoo on the back of his head - and with a full, dark brown beard, Dryden stood and spoke to the court.

It's very hard listening to everything brought up, especially about my past," he said.

He thought about his own grandmother and how she would react to hearing what he had done.

Then he spoke to Donald directly. He apologized to her and told her that she never had to worry about anything else from him.

Seated in the courtroom, Donald nodded.

Assistant Crown attorney Warren Milko described Dryden's actions as a series of horrific decisions that essentially got worse and worse as he sought to escape." His actions risked the lives of many and continued for hours and days.

It began around 10 p.m. Jan. 31 when police were called about a suspicious person on Barton Street East. Dryden was casing" a business when police officers came upon him dressed all in black and wearing a blond wig.

He ran from the officers. Dryden fired multiple shots as the officers chased him through an alley and onto Ottawa Street North. With the officers still in pursuit, he grabbed a stranger, Destiny Phillips, in a parking lot on Edinburgh Avenue and pointed his gun at the back of her head.

Phillips quickly dropped to the ground out of Dryden's grasp and Dryden fled again, shooting at police. The officers lost sight of him, and that's when he broke into the enclosed porch at the back of Donald's Edgemont Avenue North home.

When she came home around 11:20 p.m., with her mother in the car, Donald noticed things out of place. When she went to inspect, Dryden came out and pushed past her, knocking Donald off the porch.

In court Tuesday, she said both her big toes were broken. Walking is still painful. She's invested in a new storm door and steel back door with a deadbolt to give herself a sense of security. The fear has affected her family too.

It was a scary situation at the time and that apprehension has never diminished," she said.

Police found a half-full bottle of beer on the porch, vomit in a recycling bin and a vape pen. A 9 mm Glock 19 semi-automatic pistol, loaded with 12 rounds, was later found stashed in a plant pot. DNA from the evidence led officers to identify Dryden.

His lawyer Jaime Stephenson said Dryden panicked and in a drug-induced state made incredibly poor decisions. But she noted that his intentions were never to harm anyone, only to flee.

Dryden has had a difficult life since birth, including alcoholism and abuse in his home. He began consuming drugs and alcohol before the age of 10, she said. His behaviour as a child was screaming for help."

There was a time when he met a nice woman, had a child and had legitimate work. However, he lost his employment because of his record, and that began the cycle again.

Stephenson commended Dryden for taking his time in custody seriously, including keeping detailed records.

He has not given up on himself or on life," she said. Even though he's come close."

Nicole O'Reilly is a crime and justice reporter at The Spectator. noreilly@thespec.com