Against this backdrop, Hughie MacDonald described how in January 1984 his partner, Howie McInroy, informed him that the Allens had made threats against Howie McInroy and that he was going to square off with them. Hughie MacDonald volunteered to go along to ensure that the odds were even. During the fight in the courtyard, Howie McInroy took on Gary Allen and Hughie MacDonald, Tony Allen. Knives were involved, and by the end of the fight both Allens had been stabbed and Hughie MacDonald had sustained a deep cut to his finger. The Allens were the clear losers in this fight. Gary Allen sustained puncture wounds in the chest and stomach area. His brother, Tony, was more seriously injured, receiving stabs in the shoulder and neck area. No criminal charges were laid as a result of this incident, the Allens refusing to give any statement incriminating Hughie MacDonald or Howie McInroy. However, following the fight, Mr. MacDonald and Mr. McInroy were transferred back to the Special Handling Unit, where Mr. MacDonald spent a further four years. The Allens were transferred to lower security institutions in the Pacific Region.

For the next decade, until January 1994, Gary Allen and Hughie MacDonald served their time at opposite ends of the country. After spending four years in the Special Handling Unit and a period in Millhaven Institution, in 1992 Mr. MacDonald was transferred to the Regional Psychiatric Centre (RPC). For eight months he participated in the Violent Offender Program there. He did not complete all phases of the program, and he was advised to come back and complete it at a later time. He was transferred to Matsqui Institution briefly and then to Mission Medium Security Institution in June 1993. In July 1993, he returned to the RPC and was there until December of that year. At the RPC he was a member of the Inmate Committee at the time a home brew was found hidden in the Inmate Committee office. He was also found to be in possession of a small exacto blade knife used for hobby purposes. He was charged with possession of contraband and received a sentence of 30 days' segregation, suspended for 60 days, for the brew, and a $25 fine for the knife. The offences led to his being transferred out of the RPC to Kent on December 15, 1993. He remained in segregation at Kent until bed space became available in the general population on January 17, 1994. In a meeting with his case management officer, he requested that he be readmitted to the RPC to complete the Violent Offender Program and was advised that he should reapply after four months. At this stage in his sentence, Hughie MacDonald had served the fifteen years required under a sentence for first-degree murder after which he could, pursuant to the provisions of s. 745 of the Criminal Code, apply for a hearing in the Supreme Court before a jury for a determination that his parole eligibility be reduced from 25 years.

Just one week before Hughie MacDonald was transferred from the RPC to Kent, on December 8, 1993, Gary Allen was sentenced to the term of 2 years less a day for possession of narcotics, possession of an unregistered and restricted weapon, and possession of property obtained by crime. As he was serving a sentence of less than 2 years, he was sent to a provincial institution, the Fraser Regional Correctional Centre. The initial entry in his provincial sentence management file read, "Well known offender in provincial and federal gaols. Extremely violent history." The degree to which provincial authorities viewed Mr. Allen as potentially dangerous, both to prisoners and to staff, was reflected in an entry in the Inmate Progress Log on December 12, 1993. "Inmate Allen is to be in belly chains when being transported by staff members, and three staff must be present when inmate is let out of cell or not in belly chains." A decision was made that Mr. Allen would be placed in "separate custody" (administrative segregation) under s. 38.1 of the Provincial Correctional Centre Rules and Regulations. The reason for this is set out in a memorandum written by Mr. A. E. Riou, the Director of Operations for the Fraser Regional Correctional Centre (FRCC), who was later called as a witness for the defence in the trial of Hughie MacDonald.

Mr. Allen continues to pose a threat to the management, operation, discipline and security of the Correctional Centre; therefore, it is advised that he continue to serve his sentence in separate custody. A lot of documentation has been submitted regarding Mr. Allen. He is described by the FRCC psychologist as "a true psychopath," and is fully capable of violence with or without provocation. Throughout his period in segregation, Mr. Allen has made numerous threats to staff and inmates within the Centre. In my view, he is not an inmate that can be trusted in either general population or protective custody to abide by all rules and regulations of the Centre. His potentially violent nature is ever present even though there may be periods of apparent co-operation on his part. The continuation of separate custody status for Mr. Allen is requested. (Memorandum from A.E. Riou to R. Williams, District Director, Fraser Regional Correctional Centre, January 13, 1994)

The Fraser Regional Correctional Centre's consulting psychologist, Dr. Myron Schimpf, was also called as a witness for the defence in the MacDonald trial. He gave evidence that he saw Gary Allen on four or five occasions in January and February of 1994 and reviewed for the court the clinical notes he had made following his interview with Mr. Allen on January 18. Those notes contained the following entries:

Today we discussed the term "predator" and the degree to which it applies to him. He was very disclosive and reflective, showing considerable willingness to discuss controversial material. He shared that usually he was controlled, studied, and very aware, engaging in violence only when necessary for self-protection, i.e., not random or gratuitous. However, he acknowledges that he occasionally experiences a type of altered consciousness, at which time he withdraws into himself and eschews interaction with others. Interestingly, he feels that his actual facial countenance changes, and he does not like to look at himself. Consequently, at such times he removes mirrors from his room. He becomes hyper-sensitive to physical stimuli (sounds, smells) and his focus of attention becomes very narrow. Obsesses upon one situation or individual with little or no awareness of anything outside the narrow range. His mood becomes intense and bellicose, and he lashes out, sometimes indiscriminately. He admits that during such dark periods he is predatory and dangerous, and may injure essentially innocent parties. (Clinical notes on Gary Allen, Dr. Myron Schimpf, January 18, 1994)

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