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OCTOBER 27, 2015 | Volume 28 No. 129
On July 3, 2010, a speedboat driven by Leon Reinbrecht crashed into a houseboat owned by Ken Brown following a post-Canada Day fireworks display in Magna Bay on Shuswap Lake. Brown was killed in the collision and Reinbrecht was charged with criminal negligence causing death and criminal negligence causing bodily harm. A verdict is expected today in B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops. KTW FILE PHOTO
Kamloops RCMP Cpl. Jean-Rene Michaud.
After being shot, Mountie takes the stand TIM PETRUK
STAFF REPORTER
tim@kamloopsthisweek.com
Nearly 11 months after he was shot while conducting a traffic stop in Batchelor Heights, RCMP Cpl. JeanRene Michaud was in a Kamloops courtroom on Friday testifying against an alleged criminal in an unrelated case for the first time since being injured. Michaud took the stand in the preliminary inquiry of Michael Lees, who is charged with two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking. The evidence he gave is bound by a court-ordered publication ban, but it marks Michaud’s return to policing — albeit in a limited capacity. It is not known if or when Michaud will resume full-time work. Ken Knutson is facing a raft of serious charges — including attempted murder — in relation to the Dec. 3 shooting of Michaud. The 36-year-old was arrested following an exhaustive manhunt that lasted more than 12 hours. Knutson is due back in court for his own preliminary inquiry beginning on Dec. 7, at which the Crown intends to call 21 witnesses — 16 police officers, four civilians and one expert. Knutson remains in custody.
DECISION DAY IN LAKE CRASH TRIAL TIM PETRUK
STAFF REPORTER
tim@kamloopsthisweek.com
The long, strange legal journey of Leon Reinbrecht is almost over. It has been five years, three months and 24 days since Reinbrecht’s speedboat collided nearly head-on with a houseboat on Shuswap Lake, killing the houseboat’s operator, Ken Brown. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Sheri Donegan is expected to deliver her verdict today, following a trial that spanned six months before wrapping up in June. Reinbrecht’s fate has been in Donegan’s hands since the trial concluded. A decision had
been expected in September, but it was pushed back more than a month at the judge’s request. The proceedings against Reinbrecht have moved at a snail’s pace since the crash, which occurred on the night of July 3, 2010. Court heard Reinbrecht was driving his speedboat in crowded Magna Bay following a fireworks display when he collided with Brown’s houseboat. Witnesses said they saw a speedboat being driven recklessly in the area prior to the crash. Toxicology reports showed Brown was intoxicated at the time. The Crown entered no evidence about Reinbrecht’s inebriation, but a passenger on his boat said he had been drinking. In the weeks after the collision, police
obtained a warrant for blood samples they thought had been taken from Reinbrecht by staff at Royal Inland Hospital. The warrant was granted largely on the evidence that a number of empty beer cans were found in Reinbrecht’s boat. When police went to collect the blood samples, they learned no such samples were taken. It took 17 months for charges — criminal negligence causing death and criminal negligence causing bodily harm — to be laid against Reinbrecht. During the course of the trial, court heard investigators wanted to return to Magna Bay at the same time of year to understand the lighting conditions at the time of the collision. See TRIAL, A4
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