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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2012
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Kozak pleads guilty to killing three men PAUL RUDAN CAMPBELL RIVER MIRROR
He’s called “Crazy” Kozak for good reason. In a Victoria courtroom, Darcy Kozak of Campbell River pleaded guilty to two counts of second degree murder and one count of manslaughter. He was facing three counts of first degree murder. With the guilty pleas on Thursday morning, a three-month trial was avoided in B.C. Supreme Court. The 40-year-old is in custody in Victoria and returns to court Sept. 10 for sentencing. Second degree murder carries a life sentence and Kozak pleaded guilty to two counts in the deaths of Kenneth Robinson of Nanaimo and Kenneth Allan Leask of Powell River. He also pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of Luc Dulude of Campbell River. Robinson, 45, lived on the streets of Nanaimo and went missing, along with his dog Angel, in May 2007. His badly decomposed body was discovered by hikers in a wooded area of Shawnigan Lake in August 2007. In December 2008, Dulude’s body was found in an abandoned commercial building in the Willow Point area of Campbell River. During the police investigation, RCMP described Kozak as a person of interest in connection with Dulude’s death. The investigation also revealed that Kozak had killed Leask whose body was
never found. Dulude was a career criminal who was believed to have met Kozak during a prison stint. Dulude moved to Campbell River from Kamloops in August 2008 after being released from prison following his sixth robbery conviction. Court records show that Dulude spent time behind bars almost continuously since 1987. Most of his crimes were linked to his addiction to cocaine. Kozak was also a heavy cocaine user who had an acrimonious relationship with Janice Bridges of Campbell River. She is the widow of businessman Ron Bridges who died suddenly in 2004, leaving her and their children with a multimillion-dollar inheritance. The empty building where Dulude’s body was found was owned by one of Janice Bridges’ companies. The building was later demolished and the Bridges’ oceanfront home, located less than a kilometre south of the crime scene, was thoroughly searched by police after Dulude’s body was found. The troubled relationship between Kozak and Bridges became public knowledge in June 2009 during a sentencing hearing in Campbell River provincial court. At the time, Kozak was a murder suspect, but he was in court to plead guilty to two counts of physically assaulting Bridges, Continued on Page 2
KRISTEN DOUGLAS/THE MIRROR
Full steam ahead The Museum at Campbell River’s old steam donkey captured the attention of Campbell Riverites during Monday’s demonstration of the workhorse of the forest. For more photos of the Museum’s Labour Day celebrations see Friday’s Mirror.
Cortes crash kills man, two pets A 78-year-old Cortes Island resident and his two dogs are dead after his car veered off the road and burst into flames on Sunday. The RCMP believe the man was travelling alone along Gorge Harbour Road when his vehicle left the road and plunged down
an embankment before catching fire. The commander of the Quadra Island RCMP detachment Corporal Shane Worth said the car was “totally engulfed in flames” when Quadra RCMP, Cortes Volunteer Fire Department and B.C. Ambu-
lance responders arrived on the scene at 2:48 p.m. The fatality is under investigation by Campbell River RCMP Traffic Services and the B.C. Coroners Service. The dead man’s name has not been released.
Thank you to all the wonderful donors, we are now able to proceed with Penny’s surgery!! The funds raised also allowed us to have the much needed dental work done on Sweet Pea, an adorable little chihuahua who is in our care. Necessary surgeries are an ongoing expense that sometimes the shelter just can’t afford, so the additional funds donated will go into our Medical Fund from which necessary surgeries such as Penny’s and Sweet Pea’s are designated. We thank our amazing donors very much, your donations will allow many animals in our care to receive the treatment that they need before they can be adopted into loving homes!!
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