EDMONTON - Travis Vader pleaded not guilty Monday morning as his second trial on drug and firearms-related charges began after a mistrial was declared in October 2012.
Vader, 42, pleaded not guilty to nine charges that allege he stole a truck, possessed an illegal revolver, trafficked methamphetamines and failed to comply with court orders around the Barrhead area in June 2010.
In the first trial, Vader was convicted before a mistrial was declared when a judge ruled Crown prosecutors hadn’t provided full disclosure to Vader’s defence lawyer. Two witness statements related to the case were not disclosed.
"I did not know of their existence until now," Edmonton’s chief Crown prosecutor Michelle Doyle told court at the time. "I would have disclosed them if I knew about them because I consider them relevant."
The new trial is scheduled to last five days.
All the charges are unrelated to the disappearance and presumed killings of St. Albert couple Lyle and Marie McCann. The McCanns vanished during a road trip in July 2010. Their bodies have not been found.
Vader was charged with their murders, but those charges were stayed in March, shortly before he was supposed to go to trial. After the charges were stayed, Vader filed a million-dollar lawsuit that alleges malicious prosecution.
Last week, Vader was acquitted of uttering threats because a judge had concerns about a correctional officer’s testimony. The officer claimed Vader threatened his life while incarcerated at the Edmonton Remand Centre in July 2012.
In February, Vader filed a $150,000 lawsuit against the RCMP and claimed they set him up on a false charge of obstructing justice. That charge was also stayed shortly before it went to trial.
rcormier@edmontonjournal.com
