2016-12-21 Vader sentencing adjourned until January | St Albert Gazette

Published by Bretton McCann,


Vader sentencing adjourned until January

Wednesday, Dec 21, 2016 06:00 am

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  • The sentencing hearing for Travis Vader will continue on Jan. 3, 2017.
    The sentencing hearing for Travis Vader will continue on Jan. 3, 2017.
    FILE PHOTO/St. Albert Gazette
    • .

Travis Vader was placed under 23-hour lockup for his own protection, a Crown witness said Tuesday.

After wrapping up four days of cross-examination Monday morning, Crown prosecutor Ashley Finlayson began to call witnesses to testify against Vader's allegations of mistreatment by Edmonton Remand Centre guards and the RCMP.

Vader was found guilty of killing the elderly St. Albert couple while they were on a road trip to B.C. in summer 2010. The second-degree murder conviction was later downgraded to manslaughter, which carries no minimum sentence.

Vader is seeking a stay in proceedings or reduction of his sentence to time served in relation to alleged Charter rights violations. His application is being heard as part of a sentencing hearing that began last Monday and will continue into the new year.

The defence had planned to call a fellow inmate to testify to the ambush by corrections officers that allegedly took place in October 2010 while Vader was being housed on the 5D unit of the old Edmonton Remand Centre, but the witness was unavailable.

The Crown called seven witnesses to speak to jail and arrest procedures, as well as the conditions at the old and new Edmonton remand facilities.

Roman Zub, a correctional services worker at the Edmonton Remand Centre and 20-year corrections veteran, testified Tuesday that due to overcrowding and Vader's high media profile there was no other place to house him when he arrived at the Edmonton Remand Centre in July 2010.

"The inmate population doesn't always wait for the (judicial process)," said Zub. "They seem to act as judge and jury and execute their own punishment as they feel is needed."

Zub, who is named in Vader's $1-million lawsuit for allegedly ignoring multiple requests for a unit transfer, told the court that unit 5D, was not solely used as a disciplinary unit. It housed both administrative segregation inmates, like Vader, and inmates under disciplinary action. Vader was housed in unit 5D for the first six months of his pre-trial custody.

Though he knew Vader was unhappy on that particular unit due to the 23-hour lockup procedure, Zub said the only other option for Vader was the protective custody unit. Vader was reluctant to move to this unit. Inmates in this unit are often labelled sex offenders, said Zub.

The court heard from several other Edmonton Remand Centre staff, who testified to the cleanliness of the holding cells, drug and strip search procedures and medical requests.

More than one testified that it was unlikely an inmate with a broken wrist would be ignored.

Arresting officers Const. Steve McQueen and RCMP Cpl. Rachel Rohatyn also testified about Vader's access to counsel and the strip search performed at the Edson RCMP detachment.

During cross-examination, defence attorney Nate Whitling asked if it was standard procedure to film a strip search.

McQueen said he left the cameras on because turning them off would create more questions than leaving them on and that he wanted a complete account of interactions with Vader.

Both officers told the court they were instructed by superiors to stay in room when Vader was speaking to lawyer Brad Thomlinson since he was not counsel on the McCann matter.

Whitling argued that the RCMP was concerned about the outcome of Vader's interview, which occurred later on July 20, 2010. He suggested the RCMP officers prevented Vader from seeking advice on the McCann investigation.

The Crown will present its response to the application for sentence reduction in the new year. Justice Denny Thomas adjourned the sentencing hearing until Jan. 3, 2017.





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