Home News Local news ‘Stay of proceedings’ in Martin Gentles case viewed as good tactical decision

PostHeaderIcon ‘Stay of proceedings’ in Martin Gentles case viewed as good tactical decision

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070512_courtBy LeRae Haynes

Crown has declared a ‘stay of proceedings’ in the Martin Gentles case, and RCMP Sergeant Bob Verbree from Traffic Services calls it a good tactical decision. He states that this decision may prevent the case getting thrown out in 18 months to two years because of ‘Regina vs Askov’ which says that an accused is entitled to a speedy trial.

Sergeant Verbree explained that when Martin Gentles was taken into custody, an ‘information’ was put in place before all investigative avenues were completed. He says this isn't usually done until all the investigation is complete and all reports are in. “In this case, the Judicial Justice of the Peace wanted the information in place, and charges before the court, before he’d release Mr. Gentles.

He said that now, months forward, when investigators are still waiting on the pathology report, the analysis report and other documents from the hospital in Vancouver, this will cause a further delay. He added that the analysis report, which is a reconstruction of all the events and the timeline, takes a lot of time and effort.

“Last Wednesday Crown appeared for the case—they had to proceed last week or ask for another adjournment—but we can’t proceed to the preliminary hearing because we don’t have all the information,” he continued.

“Crown decided to stay the proceedings, a good tactical move, and when all the documentation is in place and the investigative tasks are finished, they will reinitiate the process.

“We feel that this was a good decision—to keep the process fresh.”

He said that Mr. Gentles is not in custody and is waiting for his court case.

 


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