Court
Vernon pedophile sentenced to over six years in jail for ‘depraved’ acts
JUDGE SEES TO REMOVAL OF TATTOO 'TROPHY' VERNON - A diagnosed pedophile is going behind bars for what a Vernon Provincial Court judge called vile, depraved and repeated sex crimes against his step-daughters. The 41-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the identities of the girls, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the girls when...
Abusive husband sentenced to jail for assaulting, injuring wife
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU AND I'M GOING TO BE SMILING AS YOU TAKE YOUR LAST BREATH." KELOWNA – A local man with a history of physically abusing his wife was sentenced to 15 months in jail for an assault that left her with a cut lip, bruises and abrasions on her body. On March...
‘I thought I just witnessed somebody being murdered’
KAMLOOPS — The last thing Gil Anderson saw before he walked his daughter to school on the morning of June 2, 2014 were two silhouettes fist-fighting in his neighbour's yard before one knocked the other over and delivered three blows to its opponent’s head with a shovel. “After I heard the first strike of the...
Voice recognition argument not enough to warrant appeal
KAMLOOPS - One of three assailants convicted in a Kamloops home invasion in 2013 lost his appeal after arguing voice recognition was not enough to identify him as an accused. In his appeal, Joadth Anderson argued his accuser hadn’t heard his voice for years, never listened to others in a voice lineup and was intoxicated...
Friend of cop charged with child porn says accuser-wife showed pornography after child’s birthday party
"IT WAS EXTREMELY GRAPHIC." KELOWNA – A friend of a former Vernon cop and his ex-wife Valerie Little, who accuses him of downloading child pornography, says she believes Little was trying to get pregnant to have a better chance at taking sole custody of their kids. She also testified Little accidentally played a pornographic video...
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...
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...
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...
Okanagan men accused of trafficking marijuana hidden inside logs ordered extradited to the U.S.
NORTH OKANAGAN - A group of eight men accused in a cross-border drug smuggling operation in which marijuana was trucked to California in hollowed out logs have been ordered extradited to the U.S. A Supreme Court Judge has ordered Shane Donald Fraser, Todd Ian Ferguson, Daniel James Joinson, Darrell Romano, Robert Romano, Ivan Djuracic, Aaron...
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...