A new trial date has been set for a Kamloops man accused in 2015 of running a “chop shop” for firearms after Canada’s highest court refused to hear his appeal.

Charles Patrick was stopped by police in December 2013. A search turned up a sawed-off shotgun stuffed in his jacket.

Police then obtained a warrant to search his house, court heard, uncovering additional firearms.

In 2015, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Hope Hyslop ruled the searches illegal.

She excluded all of the seized firearms as evidence and Patrick walked free.

Hyslop made the ruling based on a question from an RCMP corporal who asked Patrick “Do you have something on you?” prior to his arrest.

According to Hyslop, that question violated Patrick’s Charter rights.

The Crown appealed the decision and the B.C. Court of Appeal overturned part of Hyslop’s ruling, allowing the shotgun to remain as evidence, but excluding everything alleged to have been found at Patrick’s home.

Patrick’s lawyers then attempted to appeal the higher court’s decision to the Supreme Court of Canada, but a three-judge panel in Ottawa in October refused to hear the appeal.

Patrick’s new trial in B.C. Supreme Court is scheduled to begin on Oct. 22.

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A Kamloops man who was charged with murder following a fatal altercation in a trailer park last year has been ordered to stand trial in B.C. Supreme Court.

Stephen George Fraser was arrested and charged after 26-year-old Cody Foster was found dead on Feb. 11, 2017, in an RV park in the 9000-block of Dallas Drive, just east of the B.C. Wildlife Park.

At the time, Mounties said they were called for a report of a disturbance. Investigators have said they arrived to find a group of people holding Fraser down. Foster’s body was found nearby.

A resident of the park told KTW at the time the victim lived in the park and the altercation took place in a trailer on the property.

An area of the park was subsequently cordoned off by police tape and forensic investigators could be seen emerging from a trailer while plainclothes detectives roamed the park speaking to potential witnesses.

Fraser was ordered to stand trial following a preliminary inquiry in Kamloops provincial court. The evidence presented at the hearing is protected by a court-ordered ban on publication.

Fraser is scheduled to make his first appearance in B.C. Supreme Court on Monday, Feb. 20.

In the days following his death, KTW spoke to friends of Foster, who remembered him as funny and hard-working.

“He is going to be dearly missed,” said Mike Adam, Foster’s manager at Adwood Manufacturing. “He’s one of those guys who, on a bad day, could make you feel a whole lot better. He’s somebody you expect to see come in to work. He’s 26 years old. You should have a whole lot in front of you at that age. He was certainly one of our hardest-working guys and an exceptionally nice guy from my perspective as the boss. He always had a joke, a smile and was liked by everyone. He will be missed.”

Friend and former co-worker Rocker Brady said he remembers Foster as an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed a good conversation.

“He used to try to invite me out fishing and stuff,” Brady said. “He was an outdoors person and he was not the kind of person who was afraid to spark up a conversation and be the centre of attention — in a good way.”

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A charge of second-degree murder has been laid in connection with the 2014 death of a Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre prisoner initially believed not to have been suspicious.

Dylan Levi Judd was 20 years old when he was found dead in his cell on Nov. 10, 2014, at the provincial prison.

At first, police believed the death to have been non-criminal and the investigation was handed to the BC Coroners Service. Coroners scheduled an inquest into Judd’s death for November 2015, but it was postponed months prior to starting.

“In the summer of 2015, police received new information that led them to believe that criminality may have been involved in the death and an investigation was launched,” RCMP Cpl. Jody Neuls said.

“The victim’s family has been made aware of the developments throughout the investigation.”

Nathaniel Jessup is facing one count of second-degree murder. The 30-year-old was taken into custody a short time after his release from prison for an unrelated conviction in Vancouver.

A date for his first appearance in court has not been set.

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An alleged Kamloops gangster facing 15 drug-related charges will spend the foreseeable future behind bars.

Erwin Dagle is facing 22 charges, including multiple counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, two assault allegations and a multiple alleged driving offences.

The charges against the 23-year-old stem from incidents last year between March and August. He has been in custody since December.

Police have said Dagle is an associate of the notoriously violent drug gang the Red Scorpions, the criminal organization responsible for the 2007 Surrey Six slayings, in which four gang members and two innocent passersby were executed in a high-rise condo unit.

Konaam Shirzad, a co-founder of the Red Scorpions, was shot to death outside his Kamloops home last September.

Kamloops provincial court Judge Chris Cleaveley ordered Dagle detained following a bail hearing on Thursday.

The evidence presented at the hearing is bound by a court-ordered publication ban.

Dagle will return to court on Feb. 26.

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The lawyer representing a man charged this week in connection with the 2014 death of a prisoner at Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre wants police to hand over evidence he said they have had for a number of years.

Nathaniel Jessup made his first appearance in Kamloops provincial court on Friday, appearing by video from a provincial jail on Vancouver Island.

The 30-year-old is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of Dylan Levi Judd , who was found dead in his cell at KRCC on Nov. 10, 2014.

The death of 20-year-old Judd was initially not believed to have been criminal and the investigation was handed by police to the BC Coroners Service.

As is standard for all non-criminal in-custody deaths, a coroner’s inquest was scheduled to take place in November 2015, but it was abruptly postponed weeks before it was to begin when police once again began investigating the death.

Jessup was arrested at the conclusion of a 40-month jail sentence he served for an unrelated matter and held in custody on the new murder charge, which was sworn this past Wednesday.

“As far as I can tell, all the evidence has been in the hands of the investigators for quite some time,” defence lawyer Jeremy Jensen said in court on Friday, noting he has received only a brief outline of the case against his client as disclosure.

“Mr. Jessup was in custody on another matter. The police had all of the information they have today. They waited until Mr. Jessup was released from custody and, essentially, arrested him upon his release.”

Jensen said he believes police have been in possession of the evidence against Jessup for a significant amount of time.

“In this case, the police have had almost all of the material and have had it for a period of years now,” he said.

Kamloops provincial court Judge Chris Cleaveley set Jessup’s next court date for March 5, at which time Jensen is expected to have more information about disclosure.

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A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled police were not acting lawfully when they convinced an elderly Kamloops man suspected in the stabbing death of his roommate to vaguely admit he had committed the crime.

Despite that ruling on Monday by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Heather Holmes, prosecutors are proceeding with Gordon Camille’s manslaughter trial without the recorded statements Holmes ruled inadmissible.

Camille, 67, was charged with second-degree murder after his roommate and relative, Dennis Adolph, was found dead in their shared Valleyview motel room on Jan. 26, 2016. Court has heard Adolph, 49, suffered a single stab wound to his abdomen.

Camille initially denied having any involvement with Adolph’s death, but his story began to change after hours of questioning from police.

Holmes watched and listened to 17 hours of recorded police interactions with police during hearings in recent weeks.

In the recordings, Camille can be heard repeatedly invoking his right to silence and asking for a lawyer. In many instances, investigators would change the subject and Camille would again become talkative.

Late in the recordings, Camille can be heard telling an investigator that he had been angry with Adolph and that the two had been fighting about money. At one point in the recording, Camille admits Adolph might still be alive had he not used Camille’s debit card to buy booze.

The Crown’s theory is that Camille stabbed Adolph in the 4 Seasons Motel room the two shared. Early in his recorded statements, Camille told police he believed Adolph was injured in a fight somewhere else.

Court has been shown video surveillance footage that appears to show Adolph returning to the motel appearing to favour his abdomen.

Holmes has not yet given her reasons for refusing to admit the recorded statements as evidence.

The Crown opened Camille’s trial following Holmes’ decision by calling a number of first responders who were present at the 4 Seasons Motel after Adolph’s death.

Camille has been in custody since his arrest in February 2016.

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B.C.’s police watchdog agency is looking into the matter after documents filed in Kamloops provincial court on Monday offered violent new details about an incident three months ago outside a Valleyview motel.

Michael Shawn Boyer was shot in the back as he walked away from Kamloops RCMP Const. Matthew James on Nov. 4, 2017, outside the Tournament Inn. James fired another shot in Boyer’s direction moments later.

At the time, police said only that shots were fired.

Boyer was wearing body armour. When he was arrested two days later, following an exhaustive manhunt, police found a spent round in the upper left shoulder of his Kevlar vest and a matching bullet hole in his backpack.

The Independent Investigations Office, B.C.’s police oversight body, was not notified of the incident. An IIO spokesman told KTW the office was looking into the police-involved shooting based on the new details.

Boyer, 41, pleaded guilty on Monday to charges of carrying a weapon and using an imitation firearm in the commission of an offence. He was sentenced to two years in jail less time served.

Thirteen Kamloops RCMP officers, James included, were in the courtroom to witness the sentencing.

According to an agreed statement of facts filed during Boyer’s sentencing hearing, James happened upon a potential drug transaction involving Boyer outside the Tournament Inn just before 5:30 p.m. The document states James approached Boyer and told him he wanted to pat him down for officer safety. Boyer turned away from James, who then told Boyer he was being detained.

James grabbed Boyer and a struggle ensued. Boyer knocked James to the ground.

“He [James] was on his hands and knees when Boyer produced a weapon and pointed it at him,” the document reads. “It appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun. Const. James believed the gun was real.”

James then reached for his sidearm, to which Boyer yelled, “If you go for your gun, I’ll shoot you,” the document states. James put his hands in the air.

“Boyer began to walk away,” the document continues. “Const. James was able to stand up and back away as well. When Boyer turned away, Const. James drew his service pistol. Boyer began to move towards the stairwell of the motel. Const. James fired a shot at Boyer’s back, considering him to be an active threat to himself, other responding members as well as the general public.”

James then took cover behind his RCMP cruiser.

“He saw Boyer come back into view still holding a weapon,” the document states. “Const. James fired another shot at him. Boyer disappeared from view and Const. James held his position until other members arrived.”

Independent Investigations Office spokesman Marten Youssef said a file on the incident has been opened after details emerged in court.

“We weren’t notified of this case,” he said. “We weren’t even advised of the case. . . . As with all of our cases, it’s the police’s responsibility to notify the IIO as a result of an injury arising from an interaction with police.”

While Youssef stopped short of saying Kamloops Mounties had failed to follow protocol, he did say the IIO is routinely notified about cases with less violent circumstances.

“We’re received cases where it’s very evident the injury does not meet our threshold and we look into it,” he said. “Usually when the police fire shots, even at moving vehicles, we’re notified of that.”

RCMP Cpl. Jodi Shelkie said she is not sure why certain aspects of the incident were seemingly downplayed.

“It was part of the investigation, I guess,” she told KTW.

James remains off work, court heard, dealing with a shoulder injury he suffered during the altercation. He is expected to be off for a year.

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An alleged Kamloops gangster convicted on a handful of property and firearm-related charges following a series of high-profile police raids in 2014 will spend 18 months behind bars.

Jason Robertson was sentenced in B.C. Supreme Court on Monday — nearly four years after police executed a series of search warrants on properties he owned.

Robertson and his wife, Sarah, had been facing more than 50 charges after the raids, which were followed by an RCMP press conference at which investigators displayed guns, electronics and drugs seized at the culmination of a probe they said had ties to organized crime.

The majority of the charges against Robertson and his wife were stayed before getting to trial. All of the remaining allegations against Sarah Robertson were dismissed by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Jeanne Watchuk due to Charter violations by police.

Over two days in May 2014, Kamloops Mounties raided three homes — one in Sahali, one in Westsyde and one in Batchelor Heights — owned by Jason Robertson.

Following the raids, Kamloops RCMP Supt. Brad Mueller showed reporters 40 firearms, bags of marijuana and cocaine and what police said was thousands of dollars worth of stolen electronics. Police said at the time the operation was gang-related and Hells Angels stickers were visible on some items at the press conference.

At an earlier hearing, court heard $50,000 in cash was seized from the Sahali home — the house alleged to have been the Robertson’s primary residence.

During proceedings in 2016, when defence lawyers challenged the methods used by police during their raid of the Sahali home, surveillance footage showed officers joking about leaving live ammunition in the family’s fireplace.

“It was straight humour,” retired RCMP Sgt. Gary Senner said in court last year. “There was no intention to ever do that.”

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An alleged Kamloops gangster who was sentenced earlier this week to 18 months in prison is once again free on bail pending an appeal filed in B.C.’s highest court.

Jason Robertson was sentenced on Monday, Feb. 19, following his conviction on five weapons and property-related offences, as well as one count of identity theft. He was released on bail on Wednesday following a brief B.C. Court of Appeal hearing in Vancouver.

Robertson and his wife, Sarah, were arrested following a series of high-profile police raids in May 2014 on properties owned by Jason Robertson, including the execution of a warrant at their Arrowstone Drive home in Sahali.

At the time, police took reporters to an evidence room at the Kamloops RCMP detachment and displayed dozens of firearms, electronics, cash and drugs seized in the raids. Police said the operation was gang-related and Hells Angels support stickers were visible on some of the seized items.

Early on in the proceedings against them, the Robertsons were facing more than 50 charges. Last year, on the eve of their trial, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Jeanne Watchuk stayed all of the counts Sarah Robertson was facing, ruling her Charter rights had been violated by police during their investigation.

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Robertson sentenced to 18 months in prison

The bulk of Jason Robertson’s 18-month sentence was for a conviction for possession of a stolen firearm, which carries a mandatory one-year prison sentence.

During Robertson’s sentencing, Watchuk ordered police to return 34 legally owned firearms seized by police during their execution of the Arrowstone Drive search warrant.

At an earlier hearing, court heard $50,000 in cash was seized from the Sahali home — the house alleged to have been the Robertsons’ primary residence.

During proceedings in 2016, when defence lawyers challenged the methods used by police while executing the warrant, surveillance footage showed officers joking about leaving live ammunition in the family’s fireplace and seizing their passports to stop them from travelling.

“It was straight humour,” retired RCMP Sgt. Gary Senner said in court last year. “There was no intention to ever do that.”

Robertson’s lawyers are appealing both his conviction and sentence. His next court appearance is slated for Sept. 10 in Vancouver.

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The Kamloops motel room in which a man was found dead two years ago with a puncture wound to his abdomen did not appear to have been the scene of a violent altercation, court has heard.

Gordon Camille’s manslaughter trial in B.C. Supreme Court continued on Wednesday with evidence from one of the two RCMP investigators tasked with gathering evidence from the suite at the 4 Seasons Motel in Valleyview. Dennis Adolph was found dead inside the unit on Jan. 26, 2016.

Camille, 67, had been accused of second-degree murder, but his charge was reduced before the trial began.

Court has heard Camille and Adolph were living together in the motel prior to the 49-year-old’s death.

Taking the witness stand on Wednesday, RCMP Cpl. Meagan Grainger said she arrived at the motel room with a partner hours after Adolph’s death.

“Other than being sort of cluttered by the people who lived there, the room was in good order,” she said. “It didn’t appear tossed or there didn’t appear to have been a fight in there, just the way the items were placed.”

The case against Camille is a circumstantial one, court has heard, but Grainger testified investigators seized two knives from the motel room — one found in a nightstand adjacent to Adolph’s body.

On Monday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Heather Holmes excluded a lengthy recorded statement police took from Camille in which he admits that he could have been the killer.

Prior to that admission, Camille told investigators he thought Adolph was likely injured while out of the motel room. Video surveillance from the motel appears to show Adolph clutching his stomach while returning to his room prior to his death, though his back is facing the camera.

Holmes has not yet released her reasons for excluding the statement, but said Camille’s statement was not taken voluntarily.

The judge’s decision came after court spent two weeks listening to and watching 17 hours of interactions between police and Camille following his arrest, which came 10 days after Adolph was killed.

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The accused in the beating death of a  61-year-old Cariboo man admitted his role in the slaying to police following his arrest in 2016, but it will be up to a judge to determine whether the statement he provided investigators will be admissible at trial.

Wyatt Boffa, 28, is charged with manslaughter in the Sept. 11, 2014, death of 61-year-old Jim Painter, who was found dead inside his home in a Clinton trailer park. Kodi Tower, 30, had been charged alongside Boffa but the allegations against him were stayed after an earlier hearing.

A recording of Boffa’s confession, taken 20 months after Painter’s death, was played in a Kamloops courtroom on Friday.

Boffa told police he and Tower became involved in an altercation with Painter at the home of Boffa’s uncle. Court heard Painter had been insulting Boffa’s mother.

Boffa admitted to pushing Painter off a deck and then beating him. The attack was broken up by family members.

According to Boffa’s confession, he and Tower then walked Painter home.

“He was still talking shit so we beat him again, but this time it was worse,” Boffa said in the recorded statement, admitting that he “stomped” Painter’s head.

“Would you say that’s the blow that probably killed him?” asked RCMP Sgt. Mark Davidson.

“Probably,” Boffa replied.

According to Boffa, he and Tower then carried Painter into his trailer and placed him on the floor.

Boffa said Painter was still alive when they left.

“I should have called a fucking ambulance,” he said in the statement. “I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking. He was still alive. We left.”

Before his confession, Boffa told investigators multiple times he wanted to speak to his lawyer. 

“It will happen,” Davidson said at one point in the video, replying to Boffa’s request to phone his lawyer.

“It’s just not going to happen right now. We’re not doing that just to be a dick, but it’s not going to happen right now.”

A date for Boffa’s judge-alone trial has not yet been set, but it is expected to begin in late April. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Laura Gerow will rule on the voluntariness of Boffa’s statement to police following his voir dire, which is slated to end next week.

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A B.C. Supreme Court judge tasked with deciding the fate of a Kamloops man accused of stabbing his roommate to death in 2016 spent Tuesday afternoon watching video surveillance recordings of the parking lot of the Valleyview motel where the men lived.

Gordon Camille, 67, was arrested 10 days after his roommate, 49-year-old Dennis Adolph, was found dead on Jan. 26, 2016, in the room the two men shared at the 4 Seasons Motel.

Camille had been charged with second-degree murder, but he is standing trial on one count of manslaughter.

Court has heard Camille alerted the motel’s manager after finding Adolph lifeless on the floor of their suite. He was found to have a single stab wound to his abdomen.

The Crown believes Camille stabbed Adolph in the suite they shared, but Camille told investigators Adolph had to have been injured in an altercation somewhere else.

Surveillance video played in court showed Adolph returning home appearing to clutch his stomach, though the view is from behind. Another clip played in court appears to show Camille exiting and re-entering the suite 40 minutes later.

Just over four hours later, video shows Camille exiting the room again and alerting the motel manager about Adolph’s condition.

Court has also heard police seized two knives from the suite the men shared.

Earlier this month, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Heather Holmes threw out a videotaped admission Camille made to police, ruling it was not taken voluntarily. Her reasons for that decision have not yet been read in court.

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A Lower Mainland man is in custody following an robbery late Tuesday at a Kamloops liquor store.

Police were called to the Halston Liquor Store just after 11 p.m.

“One male entered the store and indicated a second male was outside with a gun watching,” RCMP Staff Sgt. Doug Aird said, noting the suspect stole cash, cigarettes and liquor before leaving.

Aird said police found a suspect a short time later near Tranquille Road and Eighth Street on the North Shore.

“He was arrested and found to be in possession of all the cash, liquor and 24 packages of cigarettes,” Aird said.

The 39-year-old suspect, whose name has not been made public, is expected to appear in court on Wednesday.

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A Kamloops man who fatally stabbed his friend following an argument over sunglasses has been handed a six-year prison sentence.

Eric Charlie was sentenced in B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops on Wednesday.

The 34-year-old had been charged with second-degree murder in connection to the stabbing death of John Southwell, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Southwell, 30, was killed on Jan. 22, 2016, following a brief altercation outside a Tranquille Road sushi restaurant.

Southwell, his girlfriend and Charlie had been drinking at the Duchess bar, court heard. The trio left the establishment and Charlie began arguing with Southwell’s girlfriend after she twisted and stomped on his sunglasses.

Southwell intervened and Charlie pulled a knife from his pocket. He swung it once and struck Southwell in the stomach. Southwell was rushed to hospital  and died hours later. Charlie was arrested four days later and has been in custody since.

In court on Wednesday, Charlie turned to members of Southwell’s family and apologized.

“I just want to apologize to the family,” he said. “I’m really sorry for what I did, causing you all this grief. There’s nothing I can do or say to take back what I did. I just hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me.”

Southwell’s relatives muttered through Charlie’s apology. One of them could be heard saying, ‘“No” in response to his plea for forgiveness.

Justice Dev Dley referenced Charlie’s apology while handing down his sentence.

“His remorse was heartfelt and it was genuine, but it does not detract from the senseless violence and the aftermath of what was an unprovoked assault on a person not engaged in a consensual fight,” Dley said.

Charlie has a criminal record including 83 convictions dating back to 1998. He had been released from prison two weeks before Southwell’s death.

Court heard Charlie has spent most of his adult life behind bars. Dley referred to him as “institutionalized.”

After being given credit for time served, Charlie will have just over three years left to spend in a federal penitentiary. He was also ordered to surrender a sample of his DNA to a national criminal database.

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The fate of an elderly Kamloops man accused of killing his roommate two years ago is now in the hands of a judge.

Lawyers made closing arguments in B.C. Supreme Court on Friday following the weeks-long trial of Gordon Camille. The 67-year-old is charged with manslaughter, accused of stabbing to death Dennis Adolph, 49, on Jan. 26, 2016.
The two men had been living together in a suite at the 4 Seasons Motel in Valleyview.

Adolph was found dead on the floor between the suite’s two beds and police found a knife with his blood on it in an adjacent nightstand. The knife had the DNA of both men on its handle.

“The evidence in this case taken together points to only one reasonable inference — that Gordon Camille stabbed Mr. Adolph, causing him fatal injury,” Crown prosecutor Sarah Firestone said in court Friday.
But defence lawyer Ken Walker argued the Crown failed to prove Camille caused any harm to Adolph.

Camille was arrested 10 days after Adolph’s death and was initially charged with second-degree murder, but the allegation was later reduced to manslaughter.
Adolph was stabbed once in the stomach.

On Thursday, forensic pathologist Lisa Steele, who performed Adolph’s autopsy, testified his cause of death was internal blood loss.
Steele said she found 900 cubic centimetres — nearly one litre — of blood inside Adolph’s abdomen.

Court also heard Adolph had minor cuts to two fingers on his left hand that could have been defensive or collateral wounds.
“But they’re very superficial,” she said. “They’re not indicative of him trying to grab the knife.”

Court has heard Camille alerted the motel’s manager after finding Adolph lifeless on the floor of their suite. The Crown believes Camille stabbed Adolph in the suite they shared, but Camille told investigators Adolph had to have been injured in an altercation somewhere else.
Surveillance video played in court showed Adolph returning home and appearing to clutch his stomach, though the view is from behind. Another clip played in court, taken 40 minutes later, appears to show Camille briefly leaving and re-entering the suite.
Just over four hours later, video shows Camille exiting the room again and alerting the motel manager about Adolph’s condition.

Earlier this month, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Heather Holmes threw out a videotaped admission Camille made to police, ruling it was not taken voluntarily. Her reasons for that decision were released on Wednesday, but are bound by a publication ban in place until a verdict is delivered.

Holmes is slated to deliver her verdict on March 13.

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A defence lawyer accused Mounties of intentionally dragging out a series of interviews with a suspect in a 2014 beating death — hours of questioning that culminated in a videotaped confession.

Wyatt Boffa, 28, is charged with manslaughter in the Sept. 11, 2014, death of 61-year-old Jim Painter, who was found dead inside his home in a Clinton trailer park.

Boffa was arrested in May 2016 and questioned over a weekend at the Kelowna RCMP detachment.
Hours of audio and video recordings of Boffa’s interactions and interviews with police over the course of the weekend have been played in a Kamloops courtroom over the last two weeks.
The recordings range from a conversation about Tiger Woods to small talk about family. Eventually, Boffa admitted he had “stomped” Painter’s head before laying him down in his living room.

Defence lawyer Glenn Verdumen said police kept Boffa awake with conversation in an attempt to wear him down.
“There is no doubt that this is an intentionally protracted interview,” he said.

Crown prosecutor Chris Balison argued the confession was obtained lawfully.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Laura Gerow will rule on whether Boffa’s statement was voluntary and whether he was denied his right to legal counsel before his judge-alone trial, which is expected to begin in late April.

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An Ontario man arrested with $200,000 worth of cocaine while driving through B.C.’s Interior could face up to six years in a federal prison.

Police found 3.3 kilograms of cocaine in Paul Gallagher’s truck when he was pulled over near Revelstoke on Aug. 17, 2014. He was convicted on this past week on a charge of possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Court heard the drugs carried a price tag of $200,000 in B.C., but could have had a street value of up to $400,000 if sold in small quantities.

Gallagher, 54, has a lengthy criminal record, but no convictions for drug trafficking.
Federal Crown prosecutor Anthony Varesi asked B.C. Supreme Court Justice Dev Dley to impose a six-year prison sentence, while defence lawyer Bobby Movassaghi suggested a sentence in the range of two to three years.

Gallagher, who is in custody on an unrelated conviction, will be sentenced on March 16.

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A B.C. Supreme Court judge in Kamloops has ruled a man was negligent when his runaway snowmobile travelled unmanned at full throttle at least one kilometre, striking his friend and causing serious injuries.

Angelo Passerin and Devon Webb were among a group of about eight people on a snowmobiling trip near McBride, four hours north of Kamloops, on March 21, 2013.
While the group was exploring the terrain, Passerin spotted Webb’s sister standing on top of her stuck machine and waving her arms. He stopped his snowmobile, got off and walked over to help her.

“Mr. Webb had been going uphill at half throttle when he unexpectedly encountered a snowdrift,” B.C. Supreme Court Justice Dev Dley said in his decision.
“He applied the brakes; his snowmobile pitched forward and down, tossing him off the machine. The riderless snowmobile travelled over a 100-foot cliff, climbed out of a 20-foot powdered ravine and raced at full throttle for one to 1.5 kilometres until it struck Mr. Passerin.”
Passerin did not see or hear the snowmobile coming due to a rise in surrounding terrain. He suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to hospital.

Court heard Webb had not been using a tether cord attached to the key of his snowmobile, a common safety feature on the machines meant to stop the engine after a fall.
Webb’s lawyer argued the accident was a “freak” one and could not have been reasonably foreseen.

Dley dismissed that suggestion.
“It would be apparent to a reasonable person standing in the shoes of Mr. Webb that if the tether cord was not fastened to his clothing and he fell from the machine, that the engine would continue running,” the judge said.
“If the tether cord had been properly addicted and the engine turned off … the throttle being stuck would have been immaterial.”

The finding of negligence was connected to insurance involved in the accident.

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An alleged Kamloops gang leader whose loaded handgun was found by police executing a search warrant in 2016 was sentenced Monday to nearly three years behind bars, but he will be out of jail in less than a month after being credited for time served.

Bruce Davis, 38, pleaded guilty to possession of a restricted firearm. He had been facing 17 additional drug- and firearm-related charges — allegations that were stayed on Monday — stemming from a police raid of his Batchelor Heights townhouse on May 26, 2016.

During a court appearance in June 2016, Davis was described by the Crown as the leader of the local faction of the Wolf Pack, a Lower Mainland-based coalition of gangsters from the Hells Angels, Independent Soldiers and Red Scorpions.

In court on Monday, Crown prosecutor Adrienne Murphy said police believed Davis was working for a criminal organization at the time of the bust, using the Batchelor residence as part of a drug-trafficking operation.

Court has heard the raid turned up more than $25,000 in cash, drugs and a number of firearms — including some hidden in an attic. One gun seized was a Tec-9 with a 13-inch silencer. Two others were loaded “ghost guns,” which are built illegally with no traceable markings.

Davis’ gun, a rare .25-calibre pistol, was found in a box containing his wallet and passport.

Davis, who has been behind bars since his arrest, was one of three people taken into custody following the raid. His girlfriend, Amanda Nicholson, and Christopher Pace, described in court as Davis’ underling, each received 15-month jail sentences last year.

Kamloops provincial court Judge Stephen Harrison sentenced Davis to 33 months in prison, but credited him with all but 28 days of that sentence for time served since his arrest.

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