criminal justice
Kamloops law students create first toolkit in Canada to empower LGBTQ2s+ community
Kamloops law students have created a groundbreaking guide designed to clarify and simplify legal, health…
Another court date set for North Okanagan man found guilty of murder
VERNON – It will be more than two months before a North Okanagan man is…
Vernon man ordered to stand trial for 2015 murder
VERNON – A Vernon murder case is going to trial. Tal Kalum La Riviere faces…
North Okanagan man found guilty of murder in death of Lumby woman
VERNON – A North Okanagan man has been found guilty of second degree murder in…
Lawyers question witness about North Okanagan man’s level of impairment the night of alleged murder
VERNON – Testimony in the second degree murder trial of a North Okanagan man today…
Vernon defence lawyer calls for more treatment beds, mental health services for offenders
VERNON – A Vernon defence lawyer who’s helped a great number of addicts and mentally…
Conviction thrown out for man accused of driving into Vernon firefighter
VERNON - A man convicted of dangerous driving causing bodily harm will have his case heard again due to a technicality. Ian Douglas Burns, 28, was found guilty of hitting BX/Swan Lake firefighter Stephan Hidasi with his truck, but a judge has now deemed that ruling null because court procedures weren’t followed. Crown spokesperson Neil...
Crown drops charges against North Okanagan man accused of dangerous driving causing death of three people
VERNON - Charges have been dropped against a North Okanagan driver involved in a tragic accident over two years ago. Crown spokesperson Neil MacKenzie says evidence in the dangerous driving causing death case of Brandon McGregor did not support a conviction. McGregor, 23, from Spallumcheen, was previously scheduled to go on trial Oct. 19 on...
Vernon arsonist sent to jail for lighting townhouse on fire while roommate slept
VERNON - A Vernon man who flicked a cigarette onto a bedroom mattress while his roommate was asleep in another room admitted the act was ‘effing stupid.’ Brandon Joshua Milligan Boyce, 20, turned himself in the same day of the townhouse fire on July 17, 2014. The blaze resulted in over $137,000 in damages to...
Lumby murder trial rescheduled for 2016
VERNON - A Lumby man accused of murdering a local teacher will stand trial in the spring of 2016. Howard Everett Krewson, 55, faces one count of second degree murder in relation to the death of his 51-year-old girlfriend, Linda Ross, a teacher at the Vernon School District’s Alternative Learning Program. Krewson’s trial was scheduled...
Vernon teen accused of murder to have no contact with three people
VERNON - A local teen charged with murder has been ordered not to have any contact with his co-accused — a 14-year-old boy — and two other young men from Vernon. Brandon Joseph Clayton Wellington, 18, appeared in Vernon Provincial Court today, Sept. 9 on one count of second degree murder in the death of...
Vernon judge ruffles feathers by refusing to sentence alleged fraudster
"I CAN’T BE THROWING PEOPLE IN JAIL WHO SAY ‘I DIDN’T DO IT’" VERNON - A bit of courthouse drama unfolded at the Vernon Law Courts Monday when a judge refused to sentence an accused fraudster on charges she wouldn’t admit to committing. Desiree Dorothy Pelletier is charged with forgery, theft of $5,000 or under...
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...
New North Okanagan child and youth advocacy centre gets federal backing
VERNON - A cutting-edge pilot project in Vernon will help make things a little easier for young victims of crime. The much needed North Okanagan child and youth advocacy centre will streamline the process for young victims who have been sexually abused or assaulted, or who have witnessed crime, and will be made up of...
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...