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Court

First wife testifies in trial of former Vernon cop charged with child porn

KELOWNA – The first wife of a former Vernon RCMP officer charged with child porn described him as a confrontational man who often raised his voice. Jennifer Fisher and Ryan Hampton’s marriage officially ended in 2011, the same year he married his accuser, Valerie Little. Little, herself a member of the RCMP, told police she...

Deceit, identity theft and bigger breasts will cost jailed fraudster over $17K

KAMLOOPS - After stealing an 83-year-old man’s identity to use as a co-signer on breast implants, a tummy tuck and liposuction, a local woman owes more than $17,000 along with nine months in jail, a Kamloops Provincial Court Judge decided today, June 23. Judge Len Marchand sentenced Brandie Bloor, a woman with a history of...

Court anticipates guilty plea from accused murderer

KAMLOOPS - The man accused of the only murder in the Tournament Capital in 2014 will be sentenced later this summer after indicating he’ll plead guilty to second degree murder earlier this month. Christopher Frank Butler is accused of killing 26-year-old Deanne Wheeler in a Cherry Avenue apartment on December 30 last year. He appeared...

SNELSON TRIAL: Lawyers present final arguments in manslaughter trial

KAMLOOPS - Motive, opportunity and his own lies all point to Neil George Snelson as the person who strangled and beat 19-year-old Jennifer Cusworth to death over 20 years ago in Kelowna, court heard from the Crown during final arguments today, June 15. Cusworth, an Okanagan Community College student was found in a ditch on...

Sentence reduced for 63-year-old man convicted of bringing cocaine to Kelowna

KELOWNA – A 63-year-old Kelowna man convicted of conspiring to traffic cocaine from Vancouver to Kelowna in 2008 had his sentence reduced in Vancouver Court of Appeal Monday, June 1. RCMP wiretaps revealed Thanh Hai Tran, 41, of Vancovuer was trying to find “good-quality cocaine” for King Ting Yung, 63, to bring to Kelowna. On...

SNELSON TRIAL: Ex-wife of accused was vigilant after hearing of missing girl

KAMLOOPS - Katherine Oystryk, 44, remembers hearing about Jennifer Cusworth and watching out for her own safety after the 19-year-old girl went missing from a Kelowna house party her then-husband attended 21 years ago. Now Oystryk's ex-husband, Neil George Snelson, 48, stands accused of manslaughter in Cusworth’s killing. This is his second trial. Oystryk testified...

Case against former immigration society director fails

KAMLOOPS - A judge has dropped a series of claims, including defamation and breach of confidentiality allegations against a former Kamloops Immigrant Services executive director who claimed the board chair harrassed staff in a toxic workplace after she and five other employees were dismissed.  In her May 28 decision, Supreme Court Justice Martha Devlin said Wanda...

Accused in nurse assault declared unfit for trial

KAMLOOPS - The woman accused of assaulting a nurse at the Hillside Psychiatric Centre was declared unfit for trial in Kamloops Provincial Court Wednesday, May 27. Judge Len Marchand made the declaration after accepting findings from a psychiatric report on Heather Ann Harris, who was charged with assault after the April 15 incident. Details of...

‘He’s grabbing onto my gun,’ says cop charged with assault

LANGUAGE ADVISORY KELOWNA – An RCMP officer accused of assault says the elderly bar patron he took to the ground, punched three times and arrested last year was going for his gun. “I (felt) a very distinct feeling on my right hip,” the accused, Const. Grant Jacobson, 32, said in court today, May 26. “In...

Armstrong man’s story “did not ring true” in sexual assault trial: Judge

ARMSTRONG - What began as a cordial conversation between two strangers hiding out from the rain at an Armstrong church took a sinister turn when the man pinned the woman against a wall, sexually assaulted her, and threatened to strangle her if she resisted. The woman, in her early 20s, was scared and hesitant at...

WASELENKOFF TRIAL: UPDATE: Computer expert recovered deleted child porn links

KAMLOOPS – Two investigators who examined compact disks and a laptop allegedly belonging to a retired teacher found elements of child pornography on both, according to testimony in Kamloops Supreme Court today, May 11. Cpl. Barry Salt searched Jerry Waselenkoff’s laptop for child pornography after police seized it from the accused's apartment on McGill road...

Vernon dirt biker reported missing wanted to avoid arrest: Lawyer

VERNON - The Vernon man police and three Search and Rescue organizations scoured the Commonage for last week was afraid to go home because he didn’t want to get arrested, court heard today, April 29. Kyle Macinnes, 25, was reported missing by his worried family after he went for a dirt bike ride in the...

Man stuck with fine for illegal dock work on Okanagan Lake

VERNON - If you’re a waterfront property owner who’s ever built a dock on the lake, a B.C. Supreme Court Judge says you need a permit for that. It’s a rule cottage owner Laurent Desautels didn’t know about in March 2013, when he hired Okanagan Pile Driving Inc. to install piles into Okanagan Lake as...

Traffic court on its way out with new e-ticketing system

WILL THE DECISION RELIEVE BACKED UP PROVINCIAL COURTS AND SAVE MONEY OR WILL IT STRIP YOU OF YOUR RIGHTS? KAMLOOPS - A critic of a new amendment to the Motor Vehicle Act — which will introduce driving notices instead of tickets and remove provincial traffic courts for disputes — calls the move unconstitutional and plans...

Judge dismisses Crown appeal on fake name case, cites lengthy delays

KAMLOOPS - Police and prosecutors failed to confirm the identity of a man who was charged, tried, convicted and sentenced under the wrong name and now one more failure is on the books. A Supreme Court Justice denied the Kamloops Crown an opportunity to fix its mistakes because they waited too long to bring it...

Woman charged in connection with Vernon ATM theft

VERNON - She was caught on camera allegedly stealing cash out of someone else’s bank account, and now six months later, she’s been caught by authorities. Glenda Joan Daku, 53, from the North Okanagan has been charged with one count of theft under $5,000 in connection with the October 2014 offence, which was recorded on...

Crown appealing sentence for man who fooled police and lawyers with fake name

KAMLOOPS - It’s common for criminals to operate under an alias, but it’s very unusual for someone to be tried, convicted and sentenced under a fake name. That’s what happened with Eric Bradley Charlie, born 1983, who told police in 2013 he was James Rocky Whitford, born 1990, one of 18 known aliases on his...

Crime spree nets Vernon man more time behind bars

VERNON - A Vernon man says he was denied detox services for the third time shortly before attempting to carjack a woman’s vehicle and breaking into a nearby home. David Arthur Bruno Sammartino, born in 1984, was sentenced in Vernon Provincial Court Wednesday, April 1, on two charges of breaking and entering, and one of...

District seeks court permission to euthanize “dangerous” dog

KELOWNA – A local couple will find out next week if their dog will be euthanized for what has been called a “severe” attack, which left a Kelowna woman with deep cuts to her legs and arm. A four day trial in Kelowna court concluded this week and Judge Jane Cartwright will decide Wednesday, April...

Court delays put brakes on drunk driving case

CLEARWATER – A judge acquitted a woman of her impaired driving charges after her lawyer argued the case violated her charter right to be tried within a reasonable amount of time —a problem in the small town of Clearwater where court time is unpredictable. Last week, Provincial Court Judge Len Marchand said delays due to...

This little piggy dug up the neighbour’s yard, this one went on the highway, this piggy’s owner went all the way to court

KAMLOOPS – If pigs could fly, a 77-year-old farmer and his neighbours probably wouldn't be in the predicament that landed them in Kamloops Provincial Court this month. Pig farmer Paul Peter Sabyan received numerous complaints from neighbours about his livestock breaking its barrier and destroying land adjacent to his Louis Creek property, south of Barriere. ...

Former Vernon Mountie to stand trial this summer on child porn charges

VERNON - A former Vernon mountie charged with possession of child pornography will stand trial this summer. Ryan Hampton, 37, was scheduled to start his trial Mar. 2 in Vernon Supreme Court but his case has now been put over until July. It has also been moved to the Kelowna courthouse. Hampton, a former police...