Criminal Justice Branch Media Statements for 2012

December 21, 2012

Crown Initiates Appeal from Sentence in Tracy Smith Case
Victoria - The Criminal Justice Branch, Ministry of Justice, announced that it has filed an Application for Leave to Appeal from Sentence in the case of R. v. Tracy Dawn Smith, 2012 BCPC 0440.

December 18, 2012

Delayed Announcement of Appointment of Special Prosecutors
Victoria - The Criminal Justice Branch of the Ministry of Justice announced that David Butcher, Q.C. and Richard Peck, Q.C. were appointed in 2009 as Special Prosecutors in connection with an investigation into the death of Ronak Wagad, and the subsequent prosecution of Charles Anthony Leslie and Babak Najafi-Chaghabouri.

November 30, 2012

Decision of Special Prosecutor Announced
Victoria - The Criminal Justice Branch, Ministry of Justice, announced that independent Special Prosecutor Christopher M. Considine, Q.C. has approved proceeding on a charge of Driving While Prohibited contrary to Section 95(1) of the Motor Vehicle Act against Matthew Kuzma, the son of an employee of the Criminal Justice Branch.

November 2, 2012

No Charges in Case Involving Terrace RCMP
Victoria - The Criminal Justice Branch of the Ministry of Justice announced that no charges have been approved against any members of the R.C.M.P. in connection with an incident involving Robert Wright in the Terrace R.C.M.P. detachment cell block on April 21, 2012.

October 23, 2012

Stanley Cup Riot - Update
Victoria - The Criminal Justice Branch of the Ministry of Justice confirms charges have been approved and sworn against an additional five individuals in connection with the Stanley Cup Riot, three adults and two young persons.

October 5, 2012

Stanley Cup Riot - Update
Victoria - The Criminal Justice Branch, Ministry of Justice, announced that it has filed applications for leave to appeal from sentence with the Court of Appeal of British Columbia in two of the Stanley Cup riot prosecution files: R. v. Alexander Peepre and R. v. Lincoln Kennedy-Williams.

September 26, 2012

Decision of Special Prosecutor Announced
Victoria - The Criminal Justice Branch of the Ministry of Justice announced that independent special prosecutor Christopher M. Considine, Q.C. has reviewed an investigative report that was sent to the Crown by Victoria police for charge assessment in relation to Matthew Kuzma, and has determined that it should proceed in Provincial Court as a Crown application for a Peace Bond under s.810(1) of the Criminal Code. Mr. Kuzma is the son of a senior member of the Criminal Justice Branch.

September 25, 2012

Additional Riot Charges Sworn
Victoria - The Criminal Justice Branch of the Ministry of Justice has approved charges against an additional 11 adults in connection with the Stanley Cup Riot on June 15, 2011.

September 4, 2012

Additional Riot Charges Sworn
Victoria - The Criminal Justice Branch of the Ministry of Justice has approved charges against an additional 8 individuals in connection with the Stanley Cup Riot on June 15, 2011.

August 24, 2012

No Crown Appeal from Sentence in the Robinson Case
Victoria - The Criminal Justice Branch, Ministry of Justice, will not file an appeal from sentence for the offence of wilfully attempting to obstruct justice in R. v. Benjamin Montgomery Robinson, 2012 BCSC 1134.

August 10, 2012

Stanley Cup Riot Charge Update
Victoria - The Criminal Justice Branch of the Ministry of Justice confirms that since the June 15, 2012 update issued by the Integrated Riot Investigation Team charges have been approved and sworn against an additional 23 individuals in connection with the Stanley Cup Riot, 20 adults and 3 young persons.

August 2, 2012

R. v. Bacon, Haevischer, Johnston and Le – Separate Trials
Victoria - Two Direct Indictments were filed today in British Columbia Supreme Court, separately charging Cody Rae Haevischer, Matthew James Johnston and Quang Vinh Thang (Michael) Le on one Indictment and James Kyle Bacon on the second Indictment. All four accused continue to face the same charges, in connection with the deaths of six individuals on October 19, 2007 at the Balmoral Tower building in Surrey.

July 16, 2012

Special Prosecutor Appointed
Victoria - The Criminal Justice Branch of the Ministry of Justice announced the appointment of Robert Bruneau of Kamloops as independent Special Prosecutor in relation to a Kamloops R.C.M.P. investigation into the death of Jesse Seymour.

February 20, 2012

Criminal Justice Branch – Charge Approval Process
Victoria - On February 8, 2012, the B.C. government announced that Gary McCuaig, QC, has been engaged as “an external expert to review B.C.’s criminal charge assessment process to determine whether it is the most effective model for making prosecution decisions”. To better inform the public discussion, the Branch has decided to release a few facts about its charge assessment model.

January 18, 2012

Appointment of Special Prosecutor Announced
Victoria - The Criminal Justice Branch of the Ministry of Attorney General announced that Peter Wilson, Q.C. has been appointed as an independent Special Prosecutor in connection with an investigation into potential offences involving individuals associated with the community of Bountiful.