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TUESDAY December 9, 2014 • www.langleytimes.com NEWS Gateway Celebrates Five Years
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Accused in bus loop attack out on bail COURT DATE SET FOR JAN. 6 MO NI Q UE TA MMI NG A Ti m es R epo rt er
DAN FERGUSON L angley Times
The Langley City bus loop on Logan Avenue, seen here during a weekday lunch hour, has been the site of a number of violent incidents in recent years. In addition, several serious acts of violence have been committed on buses in and around Langley.
The 19-year-old charged with the beating and robbing of a Langley man at the Langley City bus loop on Friday is out on bail. Mathew Samms appeared in Surrey Provincial Court on Monday, charged with two counts of robbery, one count of assault and one count of assault causing bodily harm. He was released on $1,000 bail and makes his next court appearance on Jan. 6, 2015. His bail conditions include a night curfew but it doesn’t appear that he is banned from taking transit.
The 15-year-old also accused in this violent crime was charged with the same counts, but is being held in custody. His next appearance is Dec. 10. He can’t be named because he is a youth. Transit Police spokesperson Anne Drennan said, in response to this latest violent attack, they plan to increase transit police and security patrols of the bus loop. They plan to do the same at the Carvolth bus exchange as well. However, Drennan stresses that it isn’t feasible for police to patrol the bus loop all the time. Continued Page 4
Taking transit in Langley can be dangerous S E V E RA L IN C ID E N TS O F V I O LE N C E O C C U R R E D O N A N D AROUND BUSES IN 2 01 4 M O N I Q U E TA M M ING A Ti me s R e p o r te r
Taking a bus in Langley can be a dangerous thing. In 2014, there have been two stabbings, and three violent, serious assaults on victims taking transit in Langley. The most recent violence to erupt at the notorious Langley City bus loop took place Nov. 29 when a 15- and 19-year-old jumped a 39-year-old man who was coming off work and waiting for a bus home. The teens beat the Langley man to a pulp, continuing to kick him in the head after he had fallen to the ground. Luckily, a woman phoned 911 and called out, stopping the
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men from potentially killing the victim. Police found him unresponsive in a pool of blood. The pair were arrested nearby with items they had stolen from him and with blood on their hands. The violence sparked outrage and concern in the community, generating more than $10,000 for the victim, who had his rent money stolen in the process. Also in November, Langley RCMP laid charges against two panhandlers, a man and a woman, believed to be responsible for robbing and stabbing a man after he didn’t give them ‘enough’ money at the Carvolth Bus Exchange on Nov. 15.
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Around 7 p.m. the two panhandlers approached the victim who was sitting in his parked vehicle and asked him for money. He did give them an amount of money, however the male suspect allegedly stabbed him in the arm wanting more, said police. As the two men struggled for his wallet, the female rummaged through the vehicle for additional “loot,” said police. Once the male suspect removed the remaining money from the wallet, the pair ran. Fingerprints led to the arrest of Langley residents Amanda Visona, 29, and Justin White, 26, who have been charged. In June, a Langley teen was stabbed in
the neck and back in a fight in broad daylight at the Langley City bus loop. His alleged attacker, an 18-year-old Langley man, was arrested nearby. Both involved are known to each other and to police. The stabbing was one of three attacks in as many months on or around transit in Langley. The most notable incident happened when a woman attacked a mother and her three very young children, including throwing a drink in a baby’s face, on a bus that was headed to Willowbrook Shopping Centre bus exchange on May 20, 2014. Continued Page 4
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