21986 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

This is an interesting trial on the Mainland.

 

 

 

 

The 13-year-old girl who Ibrahim Ali is accused of murdering in a British Columbia park wasn't the “innocent” depicted in a “rose-coloured” portrayal by the Crown at trial, his lawyer says.

 

Kevin McCullough told a B.C. Supreme Court jury in his closing arguments that the version of the girl's lifestyle presented by the Crown is “at best, a partial picture” or “at worst, a lie.”

 

He said Crown witnesses who could speak to her character, including the girl's mother, were often not the closest people to the girl and were often contradictory in their testimony about her behaviour.

 

He said the jury heard testimony that the girl often avoided her mom's phone calls, liked to “endlessly ride SkyTrain” alone and sometimes fell asleep in the park.

 

 

 

https://bc.ctvnews.c...ocent-1.6669743

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prominent Victoria lawyer Kevin McCullough is representing the accused.  It'll be interesting to see what the jury comes up with.  It certainly cannot help the case that the accused did not take the stand - not that he is required to do so.  And I'm not sure if the defence offered up an alternate theory as to how the girl died.

 

Not sure also how they came to arrest that particular suspect.

 

How about this twist:

 

 

 

He said the Crown had promised in opening statements that a sexual assault expert would “link the sexual assault to the killing.”

 

“The Crown either decided not to call the evidence or could not find the expert to say it,” he said.

 

“Now the Crown is asking you to make the leap in logic without that sexual assault expert.”

 

The jury did hear from a sexual assault expert who testified that the teen’s injuries strongly indicated that she had been sexually assaulted, but Dr. Tracy Pickett’s testimony under cross-examination was never completed.

 

Pickett, a specialist in emergency and clinical forensic medicine, was found dead on Sept. 28.

 

On Nov. 7, Justice Lance Bernard instructed the jury to disregard Pickett’s testimony and to resist all speculation into her death.

 

 

https://globalnews.c...sing-arguments/

 

 

In the days leading up to her disappearance, she was testifying in a B.C. murder trial.

 

____________________

 

Vancouver police said preliminary evidence doesn’t suggest she died of a crime. They would not comment if she died by suicide, adding it is now a BC Coroner Service investigation.

Dr. Khazei said it is unlikely that she would’ve taken her own life.

 

“She was the medical director of a sexual assault service. She was a champion of helping victims of these horrible crimes gain closure and justice. So to leave a case halfway through that would be really out of character that would really surprise me that she would do that as a choice,” he explained.

 

Pickett leaves behind her husband and two adult daughters.  

 

https://bc.ctvnews.c...troom-1.6584124

 

 

 

Ibrahim Ali has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2017 death of a 13-year-old Burnaby girl.

 

The girl can’t be named due to a publication ban. The child’s body was found in July of 2017 at Burnaby’s Central Park, hours after her mother reported the girl missing.

 

The verdict, delivered at BC Supreme Court in Vancouver Friday, came just a day after deliberations began. The judge spent much of Thursday giving instructions to the jurors, before they were excused.

 

The jury took a brief break Friday morning to seek clarifications on the differences between first- and second-degree murder, and manslaughter.

 

Justice Lance Bernard told them murder would mean Ali deliberately caused the girl’s death or meant to cause her bodily harm and knew that this was likely to cause death. Bernard said it would qualify as first-degree if it happened while Ali committed or attempted to commit a sexual assault against the girl.

 

Jurors informed the judge they had reached a verdict only moments after this clarification.

 

 

https://vancouver.ci...-trial-verdict/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 08 December 2023 - 09:48 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Police in Victoria believe they’ve made things a little safer for people who work in the retail sector.

 

Officers say they arrested more than 100 people during an eight-day crackdown on chronic shop-lifters at various stores.

 

VicPD says “Project Lifter” was created in an effort to address concerns around the violence that frontline workers face on a daily basis, including the increased risk they face when there are attempts to intervene.

 

_________________

 

The operation was part of a three-year pilot that aims to address violent and repeat offending.

 

Police say the program looks to break the cyclical nature of these crimes by working with those arrested to provide information on access to housing, substance abuse, and other supports.   

 

 

 

https://vancouver.ci...ting-crackdown/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 08 December 2023 - 09:51 PM.

[Nparker]

...Police say the program looks to break the cyclical nature of these crimes by working with those arrested to provide information on access to housing, substance abuse, and other supports...

Haven't the advocates assured us these sort of "wraparound supports" have been in place in shelters and other housing projects for years? If so, why are we still seeing so much crime?

[Victoria Watcher]

Haven't the advocates assured us these sort of "wraparound supports" have been in place in shelters and other housing projects for years? If so, why are we still seeing so much crime?

 

A few reasons.

 

Most shoplifting goes unpunished due to lack of police resources or loss prevention officers' effectiveness, or smaller shop-owners not having any resources to limit it.

 

The ability to "fence" items either directly or through professionals that buy from shoplifters has become fairly easy with quite effective apps like Facebook Marketplace.

 

Once in the hands of those that fence common items with no individual serial numbers it is nearly impossible to prove "possession of stolen property", and/as there are also lots of legitimate re-sellers out there.

[Nparker]

I understand why crime persists especially as a result of Canada's catch-and-release programs. What I am questioning is why we are supposed to believe that providing "support information" to those who are arrested is going to make the slightest bit of difference.

[Victoria Watcher]

This is an interesting trial on the Mainland.

 

 

 

 

The 13-year-old girl who Ibrahim Ali is accused of murdering in a British Columbia park wasn't the “innocent” depicted in a “rose-coloured” portrayal by the Crown at trial, his lawyer says.

 

Kevin McCullough told a B.C. Supreme Court jury in his closing arguments that the version of the girl's lifestyle presented by the Crown is “at best, a partial picture” or “at worst, a lie.”

 

He said Crown witnesses who could speak to her character, including the girl's mother, were often not the closest people to the girl and were often contradictory in their testimony about her behaviour.

 

He said the jury heard testimony that the girl often avoided her mom's phone calls, liked to “endlessly ride SkyTrain” alone and sometimes fell asleep in the park.

 

 

 

https://bc.ctvnews.c...ocent-1.6669743

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prominent Victoria lawyer Kevin McCullough is representing the accused.  It'll be interesting to see what the jury comes up with.  It certainly cannot help the case that the accused did not take the stand - not that he is required to do so.  And I'm not sure if the defence offered up an alternate theory as to how the girl died.

 

Not sure also how they came to arrest that particular suspect.

 

How about this twist:

 

 

 

He said the Crown had promised in opening statements that a sexual assault expert would “link the sexual assault to the killing.”

 

“The Crown either decided not to call the evidence or could not find the expert to say it,” he said.

 

“Now the Crown is asking you to make the leap in logic without that sexual assault expert.”

 

The jury did hear from a sexual assault expert who testified that the teen’s injuries strongly indicated that she had been sexually assaulted, but Dr. Tracy Pickett’s testimony under cross-examination was never completed.

 

Pickett, a specialist in emergency and clinical forensic medicine, was found dead on Sept. 28.

 

On Nov. 7, Justice Lance Bernard instructed the jury to disregard Pickett’s testimony and to resist all speculation into her death.

 

 

https://globalnews.c...sing-arguments/

 

 

In the days leading up to her disappearance, she was testifying in a B.C. murder trial.

 

____________________

 

Vancouver police said preliminary evidence doesn’t suggest she died of a crime. They would not comment if she died by suicide, adding it is now a BC Coroner Service investigation.

Dr. Khazei said it is unlikely that she would’ve taken her own life.

 

“She was the medical director of a sexual assault service. She was a champion of helping victims of these horrible crimes gain closure and justice. So to leave a case halfway through that would be really out of character that would really surprise me that she would do that as a choice,” he explained.

 

Pickett leaves behind her husband and two adult daughters.  

 

https://bc.ctvnews.c...troom-1.6584124

 

 

 

VANCOUVER — Ibrahim Ali's lawyers had a problem. 

 

They couldn't get him to understand a key point — that he was still on trial for the first-degree murder of a 13-year-old girl.

 

"He's useless to us," defence lawyer Kevin McCullough told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Lance Bernard on July 24. 

 

"We might as well have a hologram of the man sitting there. He thinks he's been found not guilty."

 

It was one of many conversations the jury didn't hear in a trial delayed by months, as the court and lawyers grappled with the mental and physical health struggles of a defendant who is unable to read or write in any language. 

 

There was also the death of an expert witness before she could complete her testimony, cases of COVID-19 and other illness among jurors, and violent threats against Ali's lawyers.

 

______________________

 

Police said Ali, who was 28 at the time of his arrest, had arrived in Canada as a refugee from Syria 17 months earlier and had no previous criminal record. He has remained in custody since then.

 

It took about three years of pretrial proceedings before Ali entered a plea of not guilty on April 5 this year.

 

It swiftly became clear the trial was facing hurdles. 

 

On April 11, the judge granted an assessment of Ali's fitness for trial after McCullough said his client did not understand the point or consequences of the proceedings. Ali was, he said, "completely unable to communicate" with his lawyers. 

 

McCullough said Ali had a Grade 6 education from Lebanon and was illiterate. He said his client had "serious mental health issues."

 

He said he had previously been involuntarily hospitalized for mental health issues, and once had booked a trip to Ottawa to see Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, although he never left the airport. He was also on antipsychotic medication.

 

______________________

 

McCullough told the judge on several occasions that the defence had been receiving death threats, one of which put the lawyers "in a terrible position," he told Bernard on Tuesday without the jury present.

 

He said police were investigating the threat and read it aloud in court.

 

"Your family will suffer before you meet a violent and brutal death. It will happen before Christmas. The last thing you will know is that your family suffers like the child suffered. I am suicidal due to childhood predators looking for someone to cause pain to. I'll burn myself alive. You're it," McCullough read.

 

As a result, he told Bernard that defence was considering filing an application to drop Ali as its client.

 

They did not think they could "zealously represent the accused as a result of what are imminent death threats," he said. 

But the application was not heard.

 

On Wednesday, in the trial's final stages, there was one more hitch. McCullough was stuck at home in Victoria — dealing with issues related to the threats — after his helicopter flight to Vancouver was cancelled by bad weather.

 

Bernard agreed to delay instructing the jury by one day, adjourning until Thursday to allow McCullough to appear in person.

 

McCullough said by video that he would be there, “short of getting killed.”

 

 

 

https://www.timescol...-delays-7942220

[pontcanna]

Man who stabbed friend in neck sentenced to 4.5 years in prison

 

Times Colonist

10 Dec 2023

 

 

A homeless man who stabbed his friend in the neck at Paul’s Motor Inn in Victoria three years ago has been sentenced to four-and-a half years in prison.

 

Christopher John Parker, 40, was convicted in May of the aggravated assault of Ronald Oster on Nov. 13, 2020, at the Douglas Street inn. The property had been purchased by the province in May 2020 and converted to a housing facility for vulnerable people.

 

On Friday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Jan Brongers found Parker’s attack on Oster was premeditated, unprovoked and without reason or justification. Parker attacked Oster with a weapon from behind, causing a sharp penetrating injury to his spinal cord.

 

The court heard that Oster, then 46, had allowed Parker and his girlfriend, Amanda Johnson, to stay with him at the housing facility because Johnson had severe pneumonia.

 

It was against the rules to have overnight guests and because Oster did not want to lose his room, he told Parker and Johnson they had to leave.

 

There was also tension between Oster and Parker because of a drug debt, court heard. 

 

“The next thing he knew, he felt a cold metallic object on the back of his neck. He said he felt like he was being electrocuted and fell to the floor,” Brongers said.

 

Oster saw Parker leaning over him and heard him whisper that Oster had had an accident and he would not do this because he was Oster’s best friend.

 

Parker grabbed Oster and tried to pull him up but Oster couldn’t move his arms and legs and had difficulty breathing. Parker fled.

 

Oster was taken to Victoria General Hospital and treated for a three-centimetre laceration on the back of his neck. Due to the severity of his injuries, he was airlifted to the Spine Surgery Institute at Vancouver General Hospital.

 

Oster wrote a lengthy and detailed victim impact statement, documenting how the injury has drastically changed his life and his daily activities.

 

The former musician has lost his ability to play guitar, which he studied for more than 18 years, and can no longer do activities he loved, including hiking, fishing, boating or camping, he said.

 

Brongers noted that Parker had an unstable childhood, living with his mother, father and foster parents. He left school in Grade 7 to get a job and has had alcohol and substance issues since his teenage years. He used heroin, fentanyl, morphine and crack cocaine and is now taking an opiate replacement to address his addiction.

 

The judge considered Parker’s 42 previous convictions, including five for violent offences including weapons.

 

Brongers found the severity of the offence, the use of a weapon, the level of violence, the fact that Oster was unarmed and defenceless, and that the assault was unprovoked, to be aggravating. Parker’s criminal history, the fact he was on bail at the time and fled without helping Oster is also aggravating, said the judge.

 

Brongers found Parker’s good behaviour on restrictive bail and the support he has from his girlfriend’s family to be mitigating. But he noted that Parker has not shown much remorse or much insight into the pain and suffering he inflicted on Oster.

 

More: https://digitaltimes...281595245312962

 

 

[pontcanna]

LAW SOCIETY OF B.C. DISBARS FORMER LAWYER AFTER SEXUAL ASSAULT CONVICTION

A former Nanaimo lawyer has been disbarred for sexual misconduct that occurred when he was practising in Abbotsford in 2018.

In a decision on sanctions issued and posted online last week, a hearing panel concluded that disbarment was "the only appropriate sanction" for Marc Andre Scheirer's "utterly reprehensible" conduct.

Scheirer was convicted of sexual assault in November 2020. The following March, he was given a suspended sentence and two years of probation.

ASSAULT OCCURRED AT OFFICE

The incident that led to his conviction, which was also the grounds for his disbarment, occurred in February 2018.

According to court documents and the sanctions decision, Scheirer was contacted by a prospective client who was looking for legal advice on getting the terms of her husband's bail varied to allow him to resume cohabitating with her.

The woman – whose name is subject to a publication ban and who is referred to in the sanctions decision only as "X" – met with Scheirer at his office late in the afternoon.

"X showed the respondent some photos with respect to her business," the sanctions decision reads, summarizing the assault.

"He then moved closer to her, putting his head on her chest, rubbing her leg and moving his hand towards her crotch. She tried to stand up; he pushed her down and said, 'Nicer you are to me now, the sooner we get your husband home.'"

The assault lasted for about 60 seconds, according to the decision. X left and told a friend what had happened while on her way home. Later that evening, she called the police and reported the assault.

'EXTREMELY SERIOUS CONDUCT'

Scheirer, who has since changed his name to Marc Andre Eckardt, became a former member of the Law Society of B.C. in June of this year, according to the sanctions decision.

In this case, the panel noted that the former lawyer in question had been criminally convicted for "extremely serious conduct."

PAST DISCIPLINE FOR SIMILAR MISCONDUCT

Another factor in the panel's decision was what it described as Scheirer's "very concerning professional conduct record," which includes a six-month suspension imposed in November 2022 for behaviour similar to that which he directed toward X.

In that instance, which occurred in November 2018 but did not result in any criminal charges, Scheirer met with a client at his home, offered her a martini, which she declined, made one for himself and changed into shorts and an unbuttoned shirt.

He sat in close proximity to the client on the couch and put his arm behind her, leaving her "uncomfortable and offended," according to the decision.

In addition to his six-month suspension for that misconduct, Scheirer was ordered to pay more than $24,000 in costs to the law society.

"This is not the only time that the respondent has engaged in predatory behavior towards a female client," the latest decision reads.

Also aggravating was the fact that Scheirer did not acknowledge any misconduct regarding X.

 

More: https://www.iheartra...tion-1.20900746
 

Full Decision: https://www.lawsocie...isbarred-for-p/

 

[Victoria Watcher]

A West Shore jewelry store is out $20,000 worth of merchandise after a day-time robbery.

 

Cory Kowalchuk, owner of Westshore Jewelry, recounts the brazen robbery that happened on Saturday, Dec. 9, in broad daylight.

 

“He looked around the store for about five, six minutes, and there was another couple shopping in the store,” Kowalchuk told CHEK News.

 

“He asked the young lady working to see a few necklaces, and when she turned to help the other customer next to her, he grabbed the necklaces and ran out the door.”

 

_________________________

 

Two weeks prior, at Local Pizza, business owner Guulzer Jri got his window kicked in. The pizza shop is located just next door to Westshore Jewelry.

 

Like Kowalchuck, Jri has been operating there for nine years and says he’s never had an incident like this happen before.

 

“It’s just happening more and more…Down the plaza, there has been a couple more break and entries with broken glass,” said Jri.

 

 

 

 

https://www.cheknews...nd-ran-1181347/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 10 December 2023 - 09:57 PM.

[pontcanna]

Jewelry store owner:

 

Alleged perp:

 

Pizza store owner:

 

View of businesses:

 

Photos via: https://www.cheknews...nd-ran-1181347/

[pontcanna]

Police say person took loaded gun into Ibrahim Ali murder trial: lawyer

VANCOUVER — A lawyer for Ibrahim Ali in his first-degree murder trial said police told him a person close to the proceeding brought a handgun into the Vancouver courtroom on Friday with "intent to kill."

Kevin McCullough said in an interview with The Canadian Press that police told him the Glock firearm was loaded.

He said he and his wife were called to the Victoria Police Department on Sunday, where officers informed them of the incident. McCullough said he then told his co-counsel.

"I am fearful for my safety, the safety of my co-counsel, Mr. (Ben) Lynskey, and the safety of Mr. Ali at all court appearances," McCullough said Monday.

"It's a sad day when defence counsel or people who are being zealously represented, and somehow that turns into a society where they want defence counsel to be hurt, killed, intimidated and threatened."

The trial concluded Friday with the B.C. Supreme Court jury convicting Ali of killing a 13-year-old girl in a Burnaby, B.C., park in 2017. The girl's name cannot be reported because of a publication ban.

Victoria police also said in an email there was an "ongoing investigation" but they were unable to provide details.

"You can direct further inquiries to Vancouver PD, as this is within their jurisdiction," the email said.

Vancouver police did not immediately respond to questions about the alleged incident in court, while a spokesman for the BC Prosecution Service declined to comment, saying: "I have no information to share on that."

McCullough said in the interview that he and Lynskey met with the BC Sheriff Service on Thursday and sought security measures, including that a metal detector be used. He said they were told any decision would be made by the judge but that was not implemented.

Both defence lawyers also received death threats earlier in the trial, shortly after the death of Crown witness Dr. Tracy Pickett.
 

More: https://www.timescol...-lawyer-7955496

[Victoria Watcher]

 

 

 

Langford homeowner frustrated by break-ins

RCMP offers good advice to reduce risk

https://www.vicnews....eak-ins-7283119

[Victoria Watcher]

An individual believed to be a City of Victoria employee was given a written warning after the head of a dead cougar was cut off while the carcass was being stored in a city facility.

https://www.timescol...eheaded-7957055



Dear (City employee),

Please be advised that while not specifically mentioned in your employee handbook, it’s generally considered poor form to decapitate dead cougars on City property or in City facilities.

Please refrain from this practice in the future.

Sincerely,

Your Supervisor

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 12 December 2023 - 06:40 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Now, what’s the problem? The cougar is dead, it’ll likely be buried or cremated. Why can’t an employee take a piece of it to save landfill space or cremation energy consumption? Can City garbage men (or women - surely we do have a program to encourage more female participation in this field) take things from the trash stream that they might want?

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 12 December 2023 - 06:44 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

The Oppression of Female Garbage Collectors

No Justice, No Peace.

https://medium.com/t...rs-80ace75eda11

The patriarchy is oppressing women so much that they’re being discouraged from doing what they really want to do - like garbage collection, logging, and coal mining.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 12 December 2023 - 06:47 AM.

[todd]

An individual believed to be a City of Victoria employee

Check their place for the Bengal tiger! https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.3641842

Edited by todd, 12 December 2023 - 07:54 AM.

[FawltyVic]

 

A West Shore jewelry store is out $20,000 worth of merchandise after a day-time robbery.

 

Cory Kowalchuk, owner of Westshore Jewelry, recounts the brazen robbery that happened on Saturday, Dec. 9, in broad daylight.

 

“He looked around the store for about five, six minutes, and there was another couple shopping in the store,” Kowalchuk told CHEK News.

 

“He asked the young lady working to see a few necklaces, and when she turned to help the other customer next to her, he grabbed the necklaces and ran out the door.”

 

_________________________

 

Two weeks prior, at Local Pizza, business owner Guulzer Jri got his window kicked in. The pizza shop is located just next door to Westshore Jewelry.

 

Like Kowalchuck, Jri has been operating there for nine years and says he’s never had an incident like this happen before.

 

“It’s just happening more and more…Down the plaza, there has been a couple more break and entries with broken glass,” said Jri.

 

 

 

 

https://www.cheknews...nd-ran-1181347/

 

There's still people camped out in Danbrook Park down the street from the business.

 

And the local street people will hang out round the side of the jewelry store, sometimes occupying the stairs that leads up to the roof. It's just sheer coincidence the door next to the steps is the door to the back room of the jewelry store.

[pontcanna]

[pontcanna]

Nanaimo RCMP seek indecent exposure suspect at VIU

Dec 12, 2023 

NANAIMO — Local police are asking for help in identifying a man responsible for exposing himself in front of a woman at Nanaimo’s Vancouver Island University campus.

Nanaimo RCMP Res. Cst. Gary O’Brien said a woman reported a man on a bicycle approached her on Wednesday, Dec. 6 just before 6 p.m., got off his bike to expose his genitals to her and yell vulgarities.

“He got back on his bike and took off. She immediately reported the incident to security and patrols were made for that suspect, but he was not found,” O”Brien told NanaimoNewsNOW.

 

The incident happened between buildings 205 and 210, near the VIU Gymnasium, and the victim was not physically injured, O’Brien said.

Nanaimo RCMP was alerted a day following the incident.

“He’s believed to be a caucasian man, about mid 30’s, 5’7″, slim build and wearing dark clothing.”

More: https://nanaimonewsn...suspect-at-viu/

 

[Victoria Watcher]

Another twist:

 

 

https://www.timescol...lawyers-7962081

 

 

 

 

 

McCullough has filed notice of appeal against his client's conviction in the killing of the girl in Burnaby's Central Park in 2017.

 

The notice filed Monday lists 25 grounds, including that the court didn't properly address safety concerns about death threats against Ali's lawyers, and that there were "third-party suspects" in the girl's death.

 

McCullough says two other men were arrested for the killing, but the B.C. Supreme Court erred by refusing to allow evidence about them to be brought up at the trial.

 

The notice also describes "two Asian men" who McCullough says were seen carrying a heavy bag near where the girl's body was found.

 

Other grounds for appeal include alleged bias against the defence, and a dispute over the Crown's suggestion the girl did not have a boyfriend.

 

The trial concluded Friday but hearings on matters arising from the case continue.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 12 December 2023 - 10:05 PM.