A Nova Scotia man accused of assaulting a number of people -- including police -- in the Shelburne area was before the courts on Monday.
Gregorios Laberakis made a brief court appearance Monday afternoon.
It is not his first brush with the law, however. In 2003, Laberakis was found not criminally responsible on two counts of first-degree murder after being arrested and charged two years earlier in connection with a double shooting in Toronto.
On Monday, he appeared in a Yarmouth courtroom charged with assaulting three people, including two police officers.
The RCMP allege Laberakis ran out of his home on Blanche Road on Jan. 9 and confronted a man who was driving by. Police say Laberakis head-butted the man and spit on him.
When police tried to arrest the 59-year-old Laberakis the next day, they say he resisted and struck two officers with a walking stick.
“The lawyers were talking to each other and the accused agreed to adjourn his hearing to another day to consider his options,” said Crown attorney Marc Njoh.
In 2003, Laberakis was found not criminally responsible for two counts of first-degree murder and detained at a mental health facility in Ontario.
Court documents state Laberakis shot his neighbours and police found four pipe bombs in his home and one in his vehicle at the time of the killings.
When he was charged in the 2001 Toronto killings, investigators said they believed the attack was planned and that there was a history of problems between the men.
The two victims were identified as Jerry Soriano, 35, and Dante Lozano, 54. There were four children and between four and six adults inside the home at about 7 a.m., the time of the shooting.
Toronto police said they had recovered a large-calibre weapon.
As part of the Ontario Review Board hearing in 2011, documents show hospital officials did not consider Laberakis a significant risk to the public.
In 2012, he was granted an absolute discharge, despite suffering from schizophrenia -- according to the Crown.
“We're seeking to send him, for an assessment, to East Coast Forensic, to determine fitness and criminal responsibility,” Njoh said.
The Crown says Laberakis moved to Nova Scotia in 2015 and they will be opposing his release.
“These are very serious offences, particularly when they are against peace officers, so just by the very nature we are looking to keep Mr. Laberakis in custody,” Njoh said.
None of the allegations have been proven in court. Laberakis will be held in custody until his next court appearance on Wednesday.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Natasha Pace and The Canadian Press.
