Matthew Sudds's accused killer has a violent past - Action News
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Nova Scotia

Matthew Sudds's accused killer has a violent past

Ricardo Jerrel Whynder, 32, was arrested in Surrey, B.C. last week, but parole hearing documents reveal a troubled history.

Ricardo Jerrel Whynder, 32, was arrested last week in Surrey, B.C.

A man is escorted down the stairs of a courthouse by sheriffs.
Ricardo Whynder in Halifax provincial court on March 14, 2016. (Craig Paisley/CBC)

The man accused of first-degree murder in the death of Matthew Suddshas a violent past, Parole Board of Canadadocumentsreveal.

Halifax police say 32-year-old Ricardo Jerrel Whynder was arrestedFriday without incident in Surrey, B.C.

He has arrivedin Halifax to answer to charges related to Sudds'skilling,marking the next chapter in what has been a long and violent history.

Taxi driver shooting

In 2002, Whynder was sentenced to seven years and nine months in prisonfor shooting taxi driverRonnie Lambert.

Whynderwas 17 at the time of the shooting but was tried in adult court. Parole documents say Lambertrequired hospitalization and surgery.

Although hesurvived, the shooting left him blind, unable to work and reliant on help from others to get by.

The documents make a point to mention that Whynder was completely sober during the attack.

'Violent impulses'

The violence didn't stop when Whynder was in prison.

Parole hearing documents say Whynder was convicted of aggravated assault after stabbinga fellow inmate with a shank, puncturing the man's lung.

Also while in prison, Whynderwas convicted of assaulting two corrections officers.

Those crimes added to the length of his sentence.

The parole board wrote that Whynderdemonstrated difficultiescontrolling"violent impulses."

'Likely to commit an offence' if released early

Whynder had six parole hearings during his time in prison, all of which concluded that if was released early he would be "likely to commit an offence causing the death of, or serious harm, to another person."

A man stands in a bedroom
The body of Matthew Thomas Sudds was found near Africville Park by a passerby in 2013. (Facebook)

He was released from prison in April 2013.

Sudds's body was found offAfricvilleRoadin Halifax, near the shores of the Bedford Basin,in October 2013.

Police said the 24-year-old was shot to death.

Whynder appeared in a Halifax court on Tuesday and is due back in court on March 24.

He has an unrelated court date onMarch 22in Dartmouthto answer to charges of drug trafficking.