Summerland brothers still won’t back down, this time suing a Crown prosecutor (again)

Two Summerland brothers involved in multiple lengthy legal disputes are having another kick at the can and suing a Crown prosecutor, accusing him of ignoring evidence in a long-running feud with their neighbours’ mushroom farm.

Brothers Brad and Darren Besler, along with their mother Vicki Besler, filed in the Penticton courthouse last week, accusing a BC Provincial Crown prosecutor of misfeasance in public office.

The suit comes nine months after the brothers had a minor win in the BC Court of Appeal, which, while dismissing many of their claims, ruled that an earlier attempt to sue the Crown prosecutor should not have been thrown out.

In the Jan. 2 Notice of Claim, the Beslers say the Crown prosecutor ignored evidence in a complaint they made to the RCMP about their neighbours.

“Crown prosecutors have an immense amount of power, and if it is being abused for an improper purpose, then those prosecutors need to be held accountable,” Brad Besler tells iNFOnews.ca in an email. “No one is above the law.”

The court filing describes how the BC Prosecution Service dealt with numerous allegations of threats back in 2019 and 2020. 

The court filing comes seven years after the brothers got into a public spat with their neighbours’ mushroom farm, What The Fungus.

In 2019, the brothers objected to the mushroom farm, which had set up in an adjacent property and the issue spiralled from there.

The bitter dispute has led to a seemingly endless number of court filings, convictions of mischief for the brothers which were later overturned, and close to $400,000 in legal fees for the District of Summerland.

The current Notice of Claim gives a play-by-play of alleged threats the family say they received in 2019 from their neighbour and another individual.

The brothers put up CCTV cameras along the property line and claim that the cameras filmed an individual making threats of a sexual nature.

“(The individual) said this comment directly in front of one of the (brothers) security cameras, and he pointed at the camera as he made the threat, the Notice of Claim reads. “The (family) was also were subjected to other harassment and overtly hostile acts.”

The brothers submitted five videos and a seven-page statement to the RCMP, but it appears no charges were laid.

The brothers accuse Summerland RCMP and the Crown Prosecution Service of mishandling the evidence they provided.

However, the Beslers don’t give details of how the RCMP officers or the Crown did so in the court documents.

The brothers allege that after a complaint was made to the Summerland RCMP, their complaints were investigated again, but that the Crown still didn’t press charges.

The court documents say that the Crown found that the intention of wrongdoing hadn’t been met so no charges were laid.

The brothers take issue with this and accuse the Crown prosecutor of misfeasance in public office.

“(The Crown prosecutor) was bound to act in accordance with the Crown Counsel Policy Manual’s Standards of Conduct and Charge Assessment Guidelines,” the Notice of Claim reads.

The family claims their emotional well-being has suffered, and they have suffered undue stress, anxiety and fear for their safety.

There is no dollar figure given, but they seek aggravated and punitive damages.

The BC Prosecution Service told iNFOnews.ca it was unable to comment as the matter was in front of the courts.

None of the allegations has been proven in court.