The accused carjacker who was arrested three times in three days this week had no previous record.
Michael Mulligan, Barrister & Solicitor at Mulligan Defense Lawyers, tells CFAX that might help explain some of the decisions when it came to his release.
"I do have some insight with publically available information about the particular case that may help people understand how we got here, because without the explanation it seems kind of pondersome."
Mulligan says he searched criminal databases for British Columbia and found no sign of the accused, "and that's unusual. Most people that are going off and stealing a car don't live their entire life and then just one day snap and do something like this. So something unusual is going on here."
In the first attempted carjacking on Sunday on Shelbourne Street, a suspect was arrested and released on conditions. In that case, it was the police themselves who made the decision. Mulligan says it makes sense given the lack of a previous record.
"We have a presumption of innocence in the criminal justice system... we don't assume that somebody did something and start punishing them on day one and only wait until later to see if that's proven or not," says Mulligan. "Not everyone who is arrested is guilty… and so when somebody is arrested one of things the police are required to consider is what they should do with the person? Should they ask the crown to seek the person's detention? Or should they decide to release the person with a court date and conditions?”
Mulligan says police are guided by certain criteria. One of the considerations is whether there's any reason to doubt the accused will show up in court. In this case, there was no previous record to suggest they wouldn't. Other considerations include whether the individual is a risk to the public and an attempt to steal a car might not have crossed that threshold. But it also comes back to innocent until proven guilty. "The presumption of innocence would ring pretty hollow if somebody accuses you of something and you just go straight to jail and we start punishing you."
"It's not like if you're charged your trial is next week, it might be six months down the road. And so the assessment would have to be, by the police officer, is there a basis to have this person who is presumed to be innocent kept in jail for six months waiting for the trail about whether they tried to steal a car?" says Mulligan.
But then, on Monday, the accused was arrested again after someone pushed a woman away from her car on Johnson Street and drove off in the car. The thief caused other collisions and was eventually detained by bystanders after abandoning the first car and trying to take another on Slater Street.
"That's a much more challenging circumstance from a bail perspective," says Mulligan. "[Police] didn't make the decision to release him like they did on the first occasion. Instead, they had him taken to the courthouse and they would have prepared a report to crown who would have made the decision."
The accused was released again. "We know it was the wrong call, ultimately. But that doesn't mean it was the legally wrong decision at the time," says Mulligan.
On Tuesday, the same accused in the two carjacking cases was arrested again in connection to the theft of a wallet from a home in the North Jubilee area, a case which also involved someone trying unsuccessfully to take an occupied car while fleeing.
After the third time, the accused was held in custody to appear in court on May 14.