A6 v TUESDAY, July 8, 2014
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LOCAL NEWS
TUESDAY
$200,000 bail for accused By Tim Petruk
STAFF REPORTER
tim@kamloopsthisweek.com
One of the four men arrested last week at the New Afton mine site after an alleged home invasion in Cherry Creek has been released on $200,000 bail. Tristan Wight was granted bail on a number of strict conditions in Kamloops provincial court on Monday, July 7. The 18-year-old from Richmond is charged with one count each of armed robbery and breaking and entering to steal a firearm. At about 7 a.m. on Thursday, July 3, Kamloops Mounties were alerted to a holdup at a house in Cherry Creek. The suspects ditched their vehicle — a silver Buick — a
short time later at the New Afton site, fleeing on foot. The incident led to the mine shutting down operations for half an hour. Eventually, police arrested Wight, 24-year-old Ellwood Bradbury, 23-year-old Anees Mohammed and 21-year-old Gopal Figueredo, seizing six guns that had been stolen from the Cherry Creek home. All of the men are charged with robbery and break-and-enter, but Bradbury, Mohammed and Figueredo are facing additional counts of possessing a firearm contrary to a court order. After the suspects were arrested, police raided a hotel room in which they had been staying. Inside, they found a woman — Figueredo’s girlfriend — with a firearm.
She is not facing any charges. Wight’s parents are putting up $200,000 from the equity of their Richmond home to secure his release from jail. His bail conditions include terms barring him from leaving his parents’ house without a relative and from possessing any weapons, drugs or alcohol. Wight is also barred from being anywhere east of Hope, except for court appearances or meetings with his lawyer. While on bail, he won’t be allowed to contact any of his co-accused or Jason Sauka, the victim of the home invasion. He’s due back in court on Aug. 7. Bradbury, Mohammed and Figueredo are expected to have bail hearings later this week.
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Murder re-trial begins this week in Kamloops Law Courts By Tim Petruk
STAF REPORTER tim@kamloopsthisweek.com
The re-trial of a murderer convicted of stabbing his friend 73 times during a drunken altercation began this week in a Kamloops courtroom. Cory Bird, 26, was convicted in 2011 of second-degree murder in the death of Albert Michell, whose rotting body was found by a relative in a Lytton apartment on Aug. 17, 2008. Bird was arrested three days later in Montreal, in connection to an unrelated dine-and-dash incident. After his arrest, he told police he had committed a murder in B.C. as part of a gang initiation. His story changed a
short time later, when he told investigators the stabbing occurred after Michell made unwanted sexual advances. Specifically, Bird, who is bisexual, said he woke up after a night of drinking to find Michell performing oral sex on him and flew into a frenzied state. Bird was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 12 years. Part of the reason Bird was convicted was his bisexuality — the trial judge said he didn’t believe the sexual advances would cause Bird to lose control given his previous experiences with other men. A lawyer representing Bird argued his bisexuality shouldn’t have been an issue,
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and that the only issue the judge should have considered was the unwanted sexual advances. A three-judge B.C. Court of Appeal panel ruled last summer that Bird should be re-tried because his conviction was based partly on flawed evidence from an alcohol expert. The re-trial began on Monday, July 7, with a voir dire — a trial within a trial to determine admissibility of evidence, the details of which cannot be reported. In January, jury selection will take place for the remainder of the trial. Bird remains in custody.
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