MISSION, B.C. — Day parole has been granted to an Alberta man who took nine people hostage at gunpoint in a Workers' Compensation Board office in downtown Edmonton.
The Parole Board has approved the release of 44-year-old Patrick Clayton to an aboriginal-focused substance abuse treatment centre in British Columbia.
Clayton, whose WCB claim involved a knee injury, has served nearly four years of his six-year, 10-month sentence at the medium-security Mission Institution, where the board made its decision.
Board member Maryam Majedi says Clayton's offence in October 2009 put many people in danger, but he has made positive changes since then.
Clayton told the hearing that he stormed the office in a cry for help after his young son asked to move in with him but he realized he was living in a "crack shack."
He surrendered to police 10 hours after herding people into a conference room with a hunting rifle and 100 rounds of ammunition.
