LangleyAdvance
Chiefs score a sale? pg A7
Your community newspaper since 1931
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Your source for breaking news, sports, and entertainment: www.langleyadvance.com
Audited circulation: 41,100 – 24 pages
Courts
We Buy
Odd RV case motors into court
Gold
Top dollar paid on the spot!
A former Coquitlam mayor accused of theft in Langley is on trial this week. by Simone Blais Postmedia Network Inc.
Cash in on high gold prices.
KEY LARGO
Jewellery & Loans Ltd. 20369 56 Ave., Langley
604-534-8845
02151304
O P E N 7 D AY S A W E E K
11020378
(Behind the Baseline Pub)
th
13
Annu
2 010
al
20010 64th Ave., Langley
604-533-5224
02150414
Windshield Repair, Replacement & much more!
The criminal trial of a former Coquitlam mayor accused of stealing a recreational trailer from a Langley dealership is underway. The trial began in B.C. Supreme Court on Monday with testimony from the arresting officer, who recalled Jon Kingsbury saying he took the recreational trailer in question. The longtime politician pleaded not-guilty to four criminal counts in B.C Supreme Court in New Westminster. Crown counsel Brian McKinley laid out “a simple case, but not straightforward,” against Kingsbury.” McKinley said the charges against Kingsbury ultimately boil down to the case of a stolen recreational trailer owned by a business acquaintance, Jean Aussant. “He pretended to be Jean Aussant and was allowed to take a travel trailer from the dealership,” McKinley told the court. He said Kingsbury and Aussant had known each other for some time before entering into a business relationship in 2007, when Kingsbury intended to purchase a half-interest in Aussant’s company, Enviro Surface Care. Under the company of Polaris Ventures, Kingsbury was to pay a deposit to begin the transfer of shares. McKinley said that, as he had not yet completed the transaction, the pair agreed to have Kingsbury pay $24,000 to the Travelhome RV Marketplace to complete the purchase of a 27-foot trailer for Aussant and his wife, Diane. Aussant had initiated the purchase, McKinley said, with a trade-in of a former RV and a deposit. Aussant left the trailer at the dealership on Aug. 8, 2008, for warranty repairs and was waiting for parts. McKinley alleged that, on Aug. 14, Kingsbury arrived at the dealership and told the staff he was Aussant and was there to claim the unrepaired trailer. Documents were produced in court with a signature of “J. Aussant,” which the Crown alleges were signed by Kingsbury. On Aug. 27, Aussant was called by the dealership to tell him that the parts had arrived for the repairs. The service employee asked Aussant if he could return the trailer. Aussant realized something was amiss, as he had not taken the trailer off the lot, and went to the dealership. Langley RCMP were called, and a criminal investigation began. Langley RCMP Const. Veronica Steiger took the stand Monday morning, recalling how she went to Kingsbury’s Haversley Avenue home at 4 a.m. on Oct. 9, 2008. The former mayor had answered in his night robe, and she interviewed him under his carport. “I told him I was investigating the theft of Jean Aussant’s trailer. I asked him if he knew anything about it,” she told the court. “He said, ‘Yes, I took it.’ And then he said something about a civil court case.” Defence counsel Peter Schmidt said the trailer deposit was a “loan” to the Aussants, and that Kingsbury maintained an ongoing “interest” in the trailer, as he had paid for it. He asked the court to pay attention to discrepancies in statements made by the investi-
Former Coquitlam mayor Jon Kingsbury headed to court Monday to answer various charges related to an incident in Langley. Vancouver Province
gating officer and witnesses at Travelhome. Schmidt asked the constable whether she had watched the entire transaction on the Travelhome video surveillance collected Sept. 12. Steiger replied “briefly” but not beyond what the employee identified as Kingsbury personating Aussant. “I didn’t feel it would have any evidentiary value,” she said. Schmidt attempted to argue that case law dealing with hearsay was applicable, in the sense that his client offered a consistent story throughout his early morning interview. Schmidt said his client had “no time to
make up a story and concoct something.” After hearing the Crown’s objection, Justice Miriam Gropper, however, ruled that “the length of time” between the alleged theft and the morning of Kingsbury’s arrest would have allowed “an opportunity for Mr. Kingsbury to concoct a story.” The four charges against Kingsbury are: theft over $5,000, personation with intent to gain advantage, causing a person to use a forged document, and fraud over $5,000. The trial is scheduled to continue all week in New Westminster.