21552 replies to this topic

[pontcanna]

Online reports of a shooting outside the Coast Bastion Hotel in Nanaimo tonight...don't see anything via official channels yet.

 

[Mike K.]

Any updates on that, pont?

[pontcanna]

Any updates on that, pont?

 

Photo and brief report was from a friend of a friend...trying to get an update...

[Mike K.]

Great, thank you.

Our very own Surrey by the Sea is keeping itself in the headline realm very effectively this year.

[pontcanna]

Nanaimo RCMP Media Advisory 

 

Nanaimo file # 2023-9076 

 

For immediate distribution 

 

One person in hospital with gunshot wounds following recent shooting A 39-year-old man is currently in hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries following a weekend shooting in downtown Nanaimo. 

 

The incident occurred at approximately 8 PM on Saturday March 18, 2023, in the vicinity of the Coast Bastion hotel located at 11 Bastion St. Police, BCEHS and Fire responded. The incident was initially reported by Community Safety Officers (CSO’s) who were on patrol when they were flagged down by the victim who was bleeding heavily from a facial injury. He told the officers that he had been shot. 

 

Attending BCEHS provided emergency care then transported the victim to the Nanaimo hospital for medical treatment. The area surrounding the hotel was closed off to the public to allow investigators time to search the parking and surrounding area for forensic evidence. 

 

To date, no arrests have been made and the firearm involved has not been located. If anyone has information on this incident which includes video, photos or dash cam footage of the area from 7:30 PM to 8 PM, on Saturday March 18, 2023, please call the Nanaimo RCMP non-emergency line at 250-754-2345. 

 

R/Cst Gary O'Brien 

Media Relations Officer

 

[Nparker]

Nanaimo: the Detroit of the North.

[pontcanna]

Port McNeill RCMP violated suspect's Charter rights during detention, judge rules
 

March 19, 2023 

Mounties in Port McNeill violated a suspect's Charter rights by failing to allow him to contact a lawyer promptly after his 2019 drug trafficking arrest, a judge has ruled.

As a result of the decision, Crown prosecutors cannot rely on evidence gained from the search of two homes in their case against Alexander Morgan Haenisch.

According to the decision, Haenisch argued that Port McNeill RCMP officers had violated his rights under both section 9 and section 10 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms when they arrested him on Feb. 6, 2019.

Officers had compiled "a compendium of credible, compelling and corroborative evidence showing the accused was probably dial-a-doping," the judge wrote in his decision. Because of this, there were ample grounds to arrest him without a warrant.

However, once Haenisch was under arrest, police repeatedly violated his section 10 right to legal counsel, the judge found.

Police informed Haenisch of the reason for his arrest and his right to counsel when they first arrested him, according to the decision. He did not ask to make a call at the scene of his arrest, but did tell police that he wished to speak with a lawyer.

When he was brought to the police station, police searched his person and found "16 spitballs of suspected cocaine," amounting to 10.5 grams, hidden in his underwear, Baird's decision reads. The judge considered this search incidental to the arrest, and therefore admissible as evidence.

After the search, however, police had an obligation to give him access to counsel, Baird wrote. Instead, Haenisch was held "incommunicado" for almost two hours, something the judge noted was part of the investigating officers' plan from the start.

As a result of these breaches, Baird ruled that the evidence obtained during the searches of the homes would not be admissible during Haenisch's trial.

 

More: https://vancouverisl...rules-1.6319436

[pontcanna]

WANTED PERSONS

If you have any information about these crimes or any person(s) involved, you are urged to call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS or submit a Web Tip.

Rylie HOMENIUK

Wanted For: Canada Wide Warrant/ Breach of Parole
Wanted As Of: 03/16/2023
Age: 25
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 155lbs
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Green
Race: White
Sex: Male

 

[pontcanna]

Colin John found not criminally responsible in 2016 Descoteau murder

Angry response in the Duncan courtroom after the decision

 

A sombre group after the Colin John decision in the murder of Derek Descoteau. From left: Paula Phillips, Kristina Tkachuk, Brenda Smith, Janelle Guyatt and Leah Guyatt outside the Duncan courthouse.

 

Mar. 20, 2023 

Nearly seven years after the death of Derek Descoteau in Chemainus, the man who previously pled guilty to killing him has been found not criminally responsible by reason of mental disorder.

The determination on Colin John was announced by Justice Lisa Warren in BC Supreme Court Tuesday in Duncan after a statement that took 2 1/2 hours to read, explaining all aspects of the decision.

 

Colin John

 

There was an angry response from the crowd in the courtroom at the end. Many of those gathered to hear the decision immediately stormed out when the decision became known.

“We’re really upset,” said Descoteau’s mother Brenda Smith. “This is not the outcome we wanted. Today, we wanted justice.”

Descoteau and Guyatt family members feared all along this might be the outcome. “You can prepare all you want for it, but when it happens it’s like a freight train,” said Kristina Tkachuk, Descoteau’s aunt.

The murder in May of 2016 shocked Chemainus. Descoteau was at his father’s place along with girlfriend Guyatt when John came to the basement suite entrance and started stabbing. He had initially attempted to shoot Descoteau, but the gun didn’t discharge and he used a knife instead.

Descoteau, 20 at the time, eventually collapsed in the front yard and later died of his injuries. Guyatt endured numerous stab wounds that required several surgeries over the years.

Warren relied heavily on the testimonies of Dr. Andrew Kolchak and Dr. Santoch Rai in making her determinations.

“Mr. John’s response was irrational,” she concluded. “His claim that he didn’t think what he did is wrong is also irrational.

“No reality-based motive arises out of the evidence,” she added.

John has spent time at the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre and primarily at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam over the years. He will remain at FPH, Warren pointed out, for an indeterminate time.

The defence made an application that John was suffering from a mental disorder in May of last year and a hearing commenced in October that went into the early part of 2023 before Warren made her final findings public Tuesday.

The families feel the five-minute stabbing spree that has cost taxpayers millions of dollars and cost the victims personally should create outrage among the public.

More: https://www.chemainu...scoteau-murder/

 

[Nparker]

...This is not the outcome we wanted. Today, we wanted justice...

There is very little justice in the Canadian legal system.

[pontcanna]

March 17:

 

Do You Recognize This Assault Suspect?

 

Date: Friday, March 17, 2023 - File: #23-9187

 

Victoria, BC – General Investigations Sections officers are asking for your help as they work to identify a man who punched a restaurant patron in the face Monday night.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

UPDATE | Restaurant Assault Suspect Identified

Date: Monday, March 20, 2023

File: #23-9187

Victoria, BC – Thanks to tips from members of the public, officers have identified a man who was the subject of a suspect identification alert Friday.

Officers asked for assistance in identifying a suspect after he punched a restaurant patron in the face on Monday, March 13, 2023. Numerous tips came in from various members of the public, which led to officers identifying the man. Additional investigative steps are now underway.

If you have information about the man or the incident and have yet to speak with officers, please call the VicPD Report Desk at (250) 995-7654 extension 1.

 

Photo from previous press release

[Blair M.]

There is very little justice in the Canadian legal system.

Unfortunately, for many Canadians, "criminal justice" along with "universal health care" are more often than not simply good examples of an oxymoron.

[pontcanna]

More on NCRMD finding in JOHN murder trial

 

T-C:

On Monday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Lisa Warren found John was suffering from a mental disorder — schizoaffective disorder — that rendered him incapable of knowing that what he was doing was wrong.
Instead of serving a life sentence for murder, John, who turns 32 this year, will remain in the custody of the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital.
Within 45 days, the B.C. Review Board must hold a public hearing to assess how much of a threat the accused poses to society.
The judge found that John’s beliefs were intensely out of touch with reality. John believed Descoteau was engaging in sexually inappropriate conduct with a young person.

Women he knew had told him that she had been sexually assaulted and he was angry about that.
“On the day of the offences, he saw Mr. Descoteau come home with a girl who appeared to be about 14 or 15 years old. He thought she was too young for Mr. Descoteau and that Mr. Descoteau was going to take advantage of her sexually. This angered him. He suddenly decided to kill Mr. Descoteau and he did not think what he was doing was wrong,” Warren found.

“From all the evidence, I infer that he decided to kill Mr. Descoteau to put a stop to what he had concluded was a pattern of sexually predatory behaviour. Of course, there was no actual evidence to
suggest anything of the sort.”

 

CHEK:

A review of his mental capability found that John was showing signs of schizophrenia, along with other mental health issues, before, during and after the murder. The judge also noted that John’s family has a history of schizophrenia.

On the day of the murder, John saw Descoteau entering his Chemainus home with Guyatt and believed that Descoteau was going to sexually assault her, court heard.

Warren said that John heard voices in his head and felt that he needed to save Guyatt.

Links: https://www.timescol...tabbing-6731885

https://www.cheknews...murder-1145406/

[Victoria Watcher]

The families feel the five-minute stabbing spree that has cost taxpayers millions of dollars 

 

 

Millions?  That doesn't seem right.

[Victoria Watcher]

It did seem pretty harsh at the time.



Judge cuts Colwood mom’s sentence for sexually assaulting teen, rules it unduly ‘harsh’

Mom from Colwood had sex with 15-year-old more than once

https://www.vicnews....t-unduly-harsh/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 21 March 2023 - 04:40 PM.

[pontcanna]

Cameras catch alleged Nanaimo arsonist tampering with car minutes before it explodes

Mar. 21, 2023 

 

Surveillance video at a Nanaimo auto repair shop shows a man RCMP are calling a suspected arsonist as he tampers with a vehicle that later catches fire and explodes. March 20, 2023.

Surveillance footage obtained by CHEK News shows a shockingly brazen case of alleged arson play out in real time at a Nanaimo auto repair shop.

Cameras stationed in the lot of Pure Gold Automotive, at Bastion Street and Wallace Drive, captured the suspected arsonist smashing a car window and later placing what police say was flammable material i nside, causing the vehicle to catch fire and eventually explode.

The footage was shared by Zabrina Murphy, co-owner of the auto repair shop in the heart of downtown Nanaimo where the incident took place Monday at around 6 a.m.

The force of the explosion was so powerful it smashed out one of the shop’s windows, Murphy said, but fortunately no one was in the building at the time.

Nanaimo RCMP say despite the high-quality video, police are still searching for the arson suspect, described as a man wearing dark clothing who was carrying a bag when he left the lot on the Bastion Street side.

More: https://www.cheknews...plodes-1145498/

 

[pontcanna]

 

BAT ATTACK

VIDEO: Lantzville businessman charged with mischief after baseball bat attack

Mar 21, 2023

NANAIMO — A mischief charge has been approved against a well-known Lantzville man following a case of mistaken identity.

Police allege Stanley Pottie swung a baseball bat at four people inside a pickup truck on June 10, 2022, after he believed it was his truck which had been stolen a week prior.
 

Entertaining video: https://nanaimonewsn...all-bat-attack/

The singular charge of Mischief $5000 or under was approved by the B.C. Prosecution Service on March 8.

In the video, a man is seen with a baseball bat on his shoulder, shortly after smashing the driver’s window, telling the driver to “get out of my truck you [expletive]” as he backed away.

Nanaimo RCMP responded to a call about a stolen truck on Ware Rd., however later found out the whole incident was a complete misunderstanding.

“It was just a doppelganger and a complete misunderstanding…had this individual just slowed down, taken a deep breath and called us to allow us to deal with it, he wouldn’t be looking at mischief charges.”

Comparing the VIN numbers and mileage on both vehicles further helped convince the bat-wielding man the truck was, in fact, not his.

In late June, Pottie was forced to pay $2,300 fine after hosting an event with more than 10 people in attendance during the height of COVID-19 restrictions in March 2021.

While Pottie has had prior civil claims filed against him, this is the first time he has been charged with a criminal offence.

He was a candidate for Mayor of Lantzville in both the 2018 and 2022 municipal elections.

 

 

 

[Mike K.]

What in the world:

Armed Suspect In Multiple Knifepoint Robberies Arrested After Foot Chase

Victoria, BC – An armed man who randomly robbed and assaulted multiple people at knifepoint was taken into custody after being tackled by a Patrol officer Friday night.

At approximately 11:30 pm on Friday, March 17, multiple people called 911 to report that a man armed with a knife was chasing people downtown. Callers reported that at least one person had been injured. Every available officer responded to the area and the first officer to arrive located the man near the intersection of Yates and Vancouver streets.

The first officer on scene drew their duty pistol and moved to arrest the armed man while issuing voice commands for the man to stop. The man turned and fled. The officer holstered their pistol and chased after the man on foot.

While he was chasing the man, the officer deployed his conducted energy weapon (CEW). Despite the probes striking the suspect, the deployment proved to be ineffective. The officer then closed the distance and tackled the armed man to the ground. Additional responding officers arrived and assisted in taking the man into custody. Officers recovered a knife during the arrest.

Officers then learned that the man had robbed and assaulted three people at knifepoint, and possibly stabbed a fourth, all within a short period of time.

Summary of assaults and robberies
The first victim reported that they were walking with a friend on Yates Street near Vancouver Street when they were approached by the suspect. They told officers the man held a knife to the victim’s throat, threatened to kill them and demanded money. The victim’s friend called 911 and the man fled. The victim was not physically injured in the attack.

A second victim was nearby in the 900-block of Yates Street when the man approached them. The victim reported the man claimed to have stabbed two people, brandished a knife and demanded money. The man then moved the knife towards the victim, who took hold of the man’s hand and began to fight for control of the knife. The victim fled from the man, leaving their belongings behind. The man chased after the victim while armed with the knife, prompting multiple 911 calls. The victim was able to elude the armed man and also called police. They suffered a non-life-threatening laceration to their hand.

Soon after, the suspect tackled a person to the ground in the area of View and Blanshard streets. The suspect again brandished a knife and robbed the victim. A bystander attempted to intervene, which caused the suspect to flee the area with the victim’s belongings. The victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Officers were later put in contact with another potential victim who was in the area when the robberies and assaults occurred and had suffered a non-life-threatening stab wound to the chest. Officers are working to determine if this person’s injuries are related to the above incidents. Officers believe there may be additional victims who have yet to come forward.

Officer and taxi driver injured, vehicles damaged during emergency response crash
A VicPD officer and a taxi driver suffered non-life-threatening injuries during a crash at Cook and Yates streets which occurred as officers were responding to the armed man. Two VicPD vehicles and the taxi were damaged in the crash. Both the VicPD officer and the taxi driver were transported by BC Emergency Health Services paramedics to hospital, where they were treated and released. The intersection remained closed for several hours while evidence was gathered. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Suspect faces multiple recommended charges
Following his arrest, the suspect complained of leg pain and was transported to hospital for evaluation. He was determined to be uninjured and transported back to VicPD cells, where he was held until a tele bail hearing. He was remanded in custody and held for court.

During the course of their investigation officers learned that the man had an outstanding arrest warrant and was also violating a court-ordered condition not to possess knives.

While these incidents remain under investigation, the man faces a series of recommended charges, including multiple charges for assault with a weapon and robbery, obstruction of a police officer and breaching court-ordered conditions.

If you have information about any of these incidents, or were robbed and/or assaulted, please call the VicPD Report Desk at (250) 995-7654 extension 1.

[Barrrister]

Great, and people why we dont feel safe downtown anymore.

[Mike K.]

The first victim reported that they were walking with a friend on Yates Street near Vancouver Street when they were approached by the suspect. They told officers the man held a knife to the victim’s throat, threatened to kill them and demanded money.

^^^^^^^^