Jeffrey Arenburg

Case record: Jeffrey Arenburg

Background

Jeffrey Arenburg was a Canadian gunman who shot and killed broadcaster Brian Smith in Ottawa on August 1, 1995. Jeffrey Arenburg was paranoid schizophrenic. He believed that CJOH was broadcasting messages in his head and went to Smith's employer, CJOH, for that reason.

Before moving to Ottawa, Arenburg had been a scallop fisherman in Nova Scotia. He physically assaulted a radio station manager in Bridgewater in 1992, again citing messages being broadcast in his head. In that earlier incident, he was found guilty of assault and fined $300 or two weeks in jail, but he never showed up for his trial. He had already skipped town and moved to Ottawa; the authorities in Bridgewater decided that it was not worth their while to track him down.

Arenburg was turned away from the Parliament Buildings several times. An official at the city's press club noted that he had previously ejected Arenburg from the club three times for loudly demanding to see various people on his list.

The offence

Jeffrey Arenburg used a .22 calibre rifle to hunt down Brian Smith in the parking lot of the TV station on August 1, 1995. Smith was a former NHLer turned CJOH sportscaster.

After the shooting, police found a list of other Ottawa media personalities in Arenburg's apartment. Smith was the first broadcast personality that Arenburg saw and recognized coming out of the building.

Investigation

Trial

Jeffrey Arenburg was found not criminally responsible in Brian Smith’s death due to his mental condition.

In the earlier 1992 incident, Arenburg had been found guilty of assault and fined $300 or two weeks in jail, but he never showed up for his trial.

Sentencing

Jeffrey Arenburg was remanded to the Oak Ridge Division of the Penetanguishene Mental Health Centre for Brian Smith’s death.

In 2001, the Ontario Review Board began to grant Arenburg 72-hour release.

He applied for full conditional release in 2004.

In May 2004, the Ontario Review Board granted conditional discharge that required him to:

• report to the centre once a month
• take a regular urine test
• not consume alcohol or non-medical drugs
• not own a weapon
• live in Barrie with his brother

Appeals

The Crown opposed the full discharge, along with Smith’s widow, who opposed the full discharge. The widow and the Crown wondered how the mental health centre could change its opinion on Arenburg’s risk level from a similar hearing in 2005.

A review board final report suggested there was a 24-per-cent chance he would offend again within 10 years of release.

Outcome

On November 2006, the Ontario Review Board granted Jeffrey Arenburg an absolute discharge from the mental health centre in Penetanguishene, meaning he was free to live where he wanted without restrictions.

The board ruled Arenburg no longer posed a significant risk to the community, had taken his medication faithfully for nine years, and had not displayed any aggression or psychotic episodes. He was no longer required to visit a psychiatrist, though the board heard that he had found a doctor in Barrie and realized his need for continued care.

As of June 2005, Arenburg had been living in the Barrie area with his brother since March 2003, and had recently graduated from a community college. CFRA reported that the board heard that he no longer posed a significant risk to the community and no longer suffered from the symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia.

He was volunteering two days a week for the Canadian Red Cross, and planned to find work in Alberta and be closer to his daughter.

Smith’s murder led to renewed calls in Canada for strengthening the government's gun control legislation.

Aftermath

On November 29, 2007, Jeffrey Arenburg was arrested after assaulting a U.S. customs officer in Buffalo, New York, at the Peace Bridge International Crossing.

A U.S. border guard was punched in the face, leaving him with a cut upper lip. Arenburg was quickly subdued and taken to a jail cell. The officer was taken to hospital.

Assaulting a federal officer carries a fine and/or imprisonment up to one year.

Border guards would forward Arenburg’s case to immigration enforcement officials, and he would appear in bail court as early as today. Privacy laws prevented the details of those convictions from being released to the public.

Jeffrey Arenburg was detained in an Erie County Holding Center, described as a maximum security facility in downtown Buffalo that housed 680 inmates, pending criminal prosecution by the U.S. Attorney's office.

A U.S. customs and border protection public affairs officer, Kevin Corsaro, said:

• "Mr. Arenburg was flagged after trying to enter the U.S. aboard a commercial bus."
• "Mr. Arenburg said he had planned to shop in the Buffalo area."
• "Once border guards ran his name in the computer system, they realized Mr. Arenburg had been refused entry in the past because of criminal convictions."
• "Moments later, they showed him into an interview room."

Alana Kainz, Smith’s widow, said:

• "I knew it would happen eventually."
• "I expected this. I really did."
• "Once he's out of the system, he's out of the system," Ms. Kainz said yesterday.
• "I think the review board has some questions to answer."

Neither Arenburg’s brother nor James Lunnie, the Midland lawyer who handled his review hearing, could be reached for comment.

In a 2007 report, Arenburg was described as born on Dec. 30, 1956, and the man who killed Brian “Smitty” Smith was described as born in 1956.

Jeffrey Arenburg was born in 1956 in the farming hamlet of Upper Northfield, 100 kilometres southwest of Halifax. He was described as the fourth of five boys, and his family raised cattle and sold produce. He was described as a grade school dropout, left the family farm, and tried his hand at fishing scallops in Digby, N.S. Years later, he walked into a Nova Scotia radio station and asked to see the manager. He claimed the station was sending out a frequency that broadcast propaganda messages in his head. He then punched the station manager.

Three years later, he killed Brian Smith. Smith was described as a pro-athlete who gained fame as a legendary sportscaster in Ottawa at CJOH, now called CTV.

Arenburg was sent to a Penetanguishene mental health centre in 1997 after being found not criminally responsible for shooting Smith. Arenburg was released the last year with no restrictions, and was said to have been spared prison and instead sent to a mental hospital.

Timeline

• August 1, 1995 — Jeffrey Arenburg shot and killed broadcaster Brian Smith in Ottawa in the parking lot of CJOH.
• 1992 — Jeffrey Arenburg assaulted a radio station manager in Bridgewater; he was found guilty of assault and fined $300 or two weeks in jail.
• 1997 — Jeffrey Arenburg was sent to a Penetanguishene mental health centre after being found not criminally responsible for shooting Brian Smith.
• 2001 — The Ontario Review Board began to grant Arenburg 72-hour release.
• May 2004 — The Ontario Review Board granted Arenburg conditional discharge with reporting, testing, and restrictions.
• 2004 — Arenburg applied for full conditional release.
• November 2006 — The Ontario Review Board granted Arenburg an absolute discharge from the mental health centre in Penetanguishene.
• June 2005 — Arenburg lived in the Barrie area with his brother since March 2003 and had recently graduated from a community college.
• March 2003 — Arenburg began living in the Barrie area with his brother.
• November 29, 2007 — Arenburg was arrested in Buffalo, New York, after assaulting a U.S. customs officer at the Peace Bridge International Crossing.

Other details

Arenburg was shown arriving at the Royal Ottawa Hospital under police guard in a 1995 file photo.

An official description of Arenburg’s later situation indicated that border guards denied entry due to past criminal convictions.