SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF RIDGEWAY
CITATION: State of Ridgeway v. Proceed101,
RSC-CV-899
DATE OF JUDGEMENT:
March 7, 2023
BETWEEN:
State of Ridgeway
Plaintiff
and
Proceed101
Accused
REASONS FOR JUDGEMENT
OF THE
HONOURABLE JUDGE KOALA4IIFE
I. Introduction
[1] This matter was set for trial on February 12, 2023, after Magistrate Judge
insertreality set aside a plea agreement and probation order on account of violation of
conditions of said agreement and order.
[2] The accused, Proceed101, is charged with second-degree murder, assault with
a deadly weapon, and vandalism. All three charges arise from an encounter between
Proceed101 and Ronnie2347 in Sterling on December 18, 2022. The accused was
arraigned on these charges and entered pleas of not guilty to each of them on February
12, 2023.
[3] Mr. Proceed denies that he was acting out of his own volition and proposes that
Mr. Ronnie induced Mr. Proceed to commit the offences for which he is charged. Mr.
Proceed argues that the government failed to prove that the circumstances surrounding
the incident to give rise to guilty intent.
[4] The government, on the other hand, said that Mr. Proceed acted consciously
and argued that even if the circumstances were viewed in the accused’s favour, they do
not negate the offences.
II. The Offences Charged
[5] Second-degree murder, as it applies to this case, is:
• knowingly or intentionally causing the death of an individual; or
• committing or attempting to commit a felony, other than manslaughter,
and in the course of and in furtherance of the commission or attempt,
committing or attempting to commit an act clearly dangerous to human
life.
[6] Assault with a deadly weapon is maliciously hurting or injuring another person
with an object that can cause severe harm or death.
[7] Vandalism, as it applies to this case, is deliberately destructing or damaging
private property.
III. The Facts
[8] On December 18, 2022, Mr. Ronnie personally observed and filmed Mr.
Proceed driving a black pickup truck attached with a snowplough in Sterling. At that
time, Mr. Ronnie himself was driving a white sedan. After hearing the testimony and
evidence presented at trial, my factual findings are as follows.
[9] At one point, the front of the two individuals’ cars collided at an angle, and Mr.
Ronnie’s car veered towards the sidewalk while Mr. Proceed’s car drove off. It did not
appear that either individual attempted to avoid the collision. After Mr. Ronnie’s car
came to a stop, a third car parked behind and perpendicular to Mr. Ronnie’s car. Shortly
after, Mr. Proceed drove back and parked his car in front of and perpendicular to Mr.
Ronnie’s car. Mr. Ronnie’s car was stuck.
[10] At this point, Mr. Proceed got out of his car with an axe and smashed the driver
side window of Mr. Ronnie’s car, injuring him in the process. Mr. Ronnie escaped
through the passenger side and backed away from his car.
[11] For the next 50 seconds or so, Mr. Proceed held his axe in his hand. For about
30 seconds, Mr. Proceed was actively in pursuit of Mr. Ronnie and swung his axe about
a dozen times. About half of his swings of the axe struck Mr. Ronnie and caused him
some extent of bodily injury; one of them caused his death.
IV. The Law
[12] Count 1 - From Mr. Proceed’s prolonged and sustained pursuit and assault of
Mr. Ronnie prior to causing Mr. Ronnie’s death, I find that the actions of Mr. Proceed’s
were deliberate and calculated to achieve his ends. I convict Mr. Proceed on this count
of second-degree murder.
[13] Count 2 – I find that Mr. Proceed caused injury to Mr. Ronnie using an axe that
is capable of causing injury, and that Mr. Proceed did this with ill intent to injure, maim,
and then kill Mr. Ronnie. I convict Mr. Proceed on this count of assault with a deadly
weapon.
[14] Count 3 – I find that Mr. Proceed caused damage to Mr. Ronnie’s car windows
as he had intended to. This charge is not trifling in nature as it was put to me during
trial. If I asked rhetorically whether this action is serious enough to stigmatize as
criminal conduct, I would answer yes. I do not consider Mr. Proceed’s conduct in a
vacuum but in the context of all that Mr. Proceed participated in that day. I convict Mr.
Proceed on this count of vandalism.
V. Affirmative Defences
[15] The defence took issue with the timing of Mr. Ronnie’s recordings, alleging
that it appeared staged or was otherwise a set up to exclude appropriate context before
the alleged offences.
[16] It was not made clear what affirmative defences were intended to be raised, but
viewing the submissions most favourably to the accused, I could roughly make out the
suggestion that Mr. Proceed was a victim of entrapment.
[17] Entrapment requires that the inducement to commit the crime was introduced
by a government official, not a private person. The accused did not allege harassment
or coercion of any sort by a government official, much less satisfy the burden of proof
to claim this defence.
[18] It strains credulity beyond its limits to speculate, without basis in the slightest
scintilla of evidence, that Mr. Ronnie, who was a passive actor and victim to Mr.
Proceed’s nearly minute-long assault and eventual murder, has prejudiced Mr. Proceed
by filming the interaction after sensing some extent of danger.
[19] I acknowledge the accused’s right to raise a defence no matter how outrageous,
but in the case before me, I reject it.
VI. Further Orders
[20] Counsel for the government and counsel for the accused are notified to submit
pre-sentencing reports on or before March 11, 2023, if they wish to submit one.
Dated at the City of Palmer, in the State of Ridgeway this 7th day of March, 2023.
“koala4Iife”
Judge koala4Iife
Counsel for the plaintiff State of Ridgeway: Hecxtro, Ridgeway.
Counsel for the accused Proceed101: Arthur_Chen, Ridgeway.
