Mississauga veteran held in Ohio jail for crime he can’t remember

Mississauga veteran held in Ohio jail for crime he can’t remember

Jason Lesko, who served in the U.S. military, cannot remember alleged crime because of PTSD, his wife says.


Jason Lesko is seen during one of two tours of duty in Iraq when he served in the U.S. military from 2003-2008. Lesko, now of Mississauga, has been charged with attempted murder in Ohio for a crime his wife says he can't remember due to a PTSD diagnosis.

By SAMMY HUDES Staff Reporter
Sun., Jan. 15, 2017

The night before he left for Ohio, Jason Lesko wasn’t himself.

His wife, Precious, recalls he’d been acting oddly on Nov. 28 — forgetful, easily confused and obsessive about mundane things he needed to do.

“He had been acting kind of funny in the past week before that, but particularly on that day he was really confused and was behaving erratically,” Precious said. “He was having heart palpitations, he was sweating profusely, he looked really stressed out.”

Early the next morning, she awoke to find the other side of the bed empty, her husband having disappeared from their Mississauga home without his cellphone or a change of clothes.

Lesko was charged on Dec. 8 with attempted murder, felonious assault and disrupting public services in Ohio for an incident that day in which he allegedly harmed his brother with a knife.

Portage County police initially sent Lesko to hospital, where doctors stabilized a thyroid issue he was experiencing and sent him to a psychiatric facility for 18 days. There, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and unspecified psychosis not due to medical reasons or drugs. He’s been in jail ever since he was released from the facility.

The night Lesko left home, he had gone outside in the middle of the night to move the couple’s car out of the way of a neighbour’s vehicle on their shared driveway, according to Precious. She said she fell asleep again after he went outside and when she woke up, she realized he had never come back in.


Precious Lesko poses with her children, Charles, 2, Liberty, 3, and Alanna, 5, at their home in Malton, January 12, 2017. Precious' husband, Jason Lesko, is in an Ohio prison facing an attempted murder charge.

Lesko, 32, served in the U.S. military from 2003 to 2008, including two tours in Iraq. He is a permanent resident of Canada, where he has lived since 2009, and runs a bakery with Precious. They have three children together, ages 2, 3 and 5.

Lesko had sometimes struggled with subtle reminders of his military service since returning from Iraq, his wife said. Loud noises, such as the sound of a dumpster opening, would make him jump. The rumble of a subway train passing beneath their old Toronto apartment used to bother him.

On Nov. 29, Precious reported him missing to Peel police, who contacted authorities in the U.S. Lesko showed up at his father’s house in Ravenna, Ohio, later that day. His brother Kirk had gone over to try to persuade him to return home to Canada when the alleged incident took place. According to court documents, Kirk was stabbed several times in the neck, chest and hand with a kitchen knife.

“When they arrested (Jason), he was really confused,” said Precious, who’s been in touch with her husband since then. “He didn’t know where he was. I think he couldn’t even remember his name. He didn’t really know what was going on.”

He appeared in court by video on Dec. 21 and his lawyer pleaded not guilty on his behalf.

Precious, a former reporter at the Star, said her husband has told her he has no recollection of what happened.

“He only has bits and pieces and parts of the story that people have told him,” she said. “He feels like some of those things were dreams.”

The day before he went missing, Precious had taken her husband to their family doctor, who referred him to a psychiatrist and prescribed anti-psychotic medication to take before bed.

She said she hoped a court would order her husband to receive treatment, preferably in Canada. She hasn’t been able to explain the situation in full to her children, who know only that their dad left home more than a month ago because he’s sick.

“Nothing’s being done for him in jail,” said Precious. “I think it’s obvious to most of us that the right thing would be to get him help.”


Jason and Precious Lesko were married in 2010.

In some circumstances, veterans charged with crimes in the U.S. can stand trial in Veterans Treatment Courts, which are designed to consider the effects of PTSD, said Chris Deutsch of the advocacy group Justice for Vets.

However, he said, crimes resulting in serious bodily injury or death are not typically dealt with in these specialty courts.

“It’s a really tricky issue,” Deutsch said. “If we’re willing to accept that (PTSD) can have such a dramatic impact on a person’s behaviour, then I think we have to factor that in when they’re going through the court process.”

There are 306 operational Veterans Treatment Courts in 37 states, despite more than 3,000 counties in the U.S. This means many cases involving veterans aren’t dealt with in these courts simply because none exists in the district where the veteran is charged.

“It’s a bit of a patchwork right now in being able to reach all of the veterans who really need it,” Deutsch said. “When you don’t have that, it becomes a lot more difficult to sell the idea of sending someone off to treatment.”

Lesko’s lawyer filed a motion in court on Thursday to have him evaluated for competency to stand trial and sanity at the time of the incident. The latter would test his state of mind and whether he could differentiate right from wrong when he allegedly harmed his brother.

“It has a bearing on the sentence,” said prosecuting attorney Victor Vigluicci. “What we’re seeking will depend on where this thing comes out. If there’s competency or sanity issues, then no, we would not (seek a maximum sentence).”


“My husband’s not a violent person,” said Precious Lesko. “He is gentle, he is funny, he’s always going out of his way to help complete strangers.”

If found unfit to stand trial, Lesko could be committed to an institution until his competency is restored, Vigluicci said. He could also be committed if he were found not guilty of the charges due to insanity.

“We will meet with the victim and ascertain the victim’s wishes,” he said. “We always take the victim’s wishes into consideration.”

Lesko’s next court appearance is Tuesday. If a judge grants the defence motion and an evaluation determines that Lesko requires professional help, Vigluicci said it’s possible he could be transferred to Canada for treatment.

Precious said despite her husband’s unusual behaviour before he left home, she was shocked by the allegations against him.

“My husband’s not a violent person,” she said. “He is gentle, he is funny, he’s always going out of his way to help complete strangers.”

She said she long suspected he had PTSD, but it was never debilitating, as Lesko was capable of working and socializing on a daily basis. The couple “lived a relatively normal life” together, she said.

“For the most part I thought he had learned to cope,” Precious said. “A lot of people tell me unfortunately PTSD is one of those things that comes and goes and sometimes you don’t realize you have it until many years later.”

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/01/15/mississauga-veteran-held-in-ohio-jail-for-crime-he-cant-remember.html