A 17-year-old Trail man, who was arrested in relation to a homicide, faces a number of charges after a lengthy bail hearing was held Wednesday in Nelson.
The teen was arrested following an investigation into the murder of a 25-year-old who suffered fatal injuries after getting into a fight at a residence in Trail before he was brought to Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on May 15.
“The details will come out, however, in order to not jeopardize an ongoing investigation that’s before the courts, I can only release certain information,” said Staff Sgt. Dan Seibel of the Kootenay Boundary Regional Detachment.
“We really need to stress the importance that if I release the wrong information – and hundreds of hours of work, let alone the trauma and so on that the family is facing – I’d never forgive myself.”
The suspect, whose identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is facing a charge of second-degree murder, three prohibited weapon charges, plus three possession and one possession for the purpose of trafficking charges under the Controlled Drug and Substances Act.
“In other words, he’s alleged to have a quantity of drugs that would more than support a habit (his own personal use),” explained Seibel. “The (other) charge would indicate to me that those are lesser quantities, something that a person would have for personal use.”
The youth suspect was released from custody on bail with strict conditions, which include a house arrest and “no contact” orders with 14 different people.
He will appear in Rossland court for the drug-related charges July 7 while the second-degree murder charge will be dealt with in a separate appearance Aug. 11.
“Based on the second-degree murder offense and the seriousness of it, I would suspect that would be a lengthy matter,” he said.