Barrie bomber pleads guilty, sentenced to time behind bars

A man charged in connection with an explosion in a Barrie parking lot entered a guilty plea on Friday.

The North York, Ont. man accused of making and planting pipe bombs underneath a Barrie man’s vehicle has pleaded guilty.

While it wasn’t made clear to the court why he did it, William Downey, 37, admitted to creating and placing two pipe bombs under a white Dodge Durango in the parking lot of an Anne Street apartment building.

The court heard one of the homemade bombs went off at around 3 a.m. on September 27, 2023. Fire investigators later found a second device that was armed but had not yet gone off.

While no one was injured in the blast, two vehicles were extensively damaged. The Crown said metal debris was found strewn across the parking lot.

The immediate area, which is home to several buildings, including a retirement home and several businesses, had to be evacuated while police safely detonated the second homemade improvised explosive device.

Downey pleaded guilty Friday afternoon to making an explosive with the intent to endanger life, arson for recklessly causing damage to vehicles in the explosion, and possessing an explosive while he was prohibited from doing so, while on a release order for drug charges, according to his defence lawyer Chris O’Connor.

Downey was arrested eight months after the explosion when forensic investigators matched his DNA with samples found on duct tape that was used to place the pipe bombs on the targeted vehicle.

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“People are afraid to go out. People are afraid to use their vehicles,” said Crown Attorney Susan Safar. “People are afraid and always looking over their backs because of what happened that day.”

The Crown added Downey “is quite frankly, lucky that nobody was harmed in the commission of these offences and that in fact it was just the vehicles that were damaged.”

Justice Angela McLeod accepted a joint submission from the Crown and defence and sentenced Downey to three years less credit for time in pre-sentence custody. Downey has about two more years to serve behind bars.

Justice McLeod reminded Downey of the seriousness of his crimes. “Had that second bomb gone off that could have caused death and significant destruction,” said the Barrie judge.

The court heard Downey has struggled with an addiction to crystal meth and his mother overdosed on fentanyl in 2019.

According to his lawyer, Downey has the criminal record “of an addict” with charges that date back about 18 years. His three-page list of convictions presented to the court included violent offences, including the assault of an officer and armed robbery.

Downey addressed the court prior to his sentence being imposed and apologized for what he had done. Downey told the court he hopes to start his life over again, telling the court it’s time for a change.

Upon his release from custody, Downey is banned from possessing weapons, including explosives, for life.