4 — Friday. January 22, 1999 ~

North Shore News

Mistrial ordered in murder case

Judge granis defence request aiter juror dismissed cf duties

Anna Marie D’Angeio

News Reporter dangclo@nsnews.com

A three-week murder trial was abruptly ended on Wednesday after a juror was dis- missed.

B.C. Supreme Court Mr. Justice = Allan) Thackray announced a mistrial in’ the case on the first day of testi- mony before the jury.

Jason Price, 22, of Vancouver, is charged with the second degree murder of North Vancouver resident Kelly Kaler on March 12, 1997.

Weanesday morning court

proceedings involved the Judge” address to the jury, the Crowr’s opening statement and the first witness.

When court reconvened in the afiernoon, the judge announced without the jury present that there was poten- tial problem with a juror.

Thackray stated that one of the jurors, Robert MacLean, indicated to a court worker at lunch time that his barber used to talk abour a friend who had committed a murder similar to the details revealed so far in court.

Crown lawyer Ralph Keeter acknowledged that the barber was a person who had been interviewed as part of the case.

MacLean was brought in done and excused trom jury duty by che judge.

“OK,” whispered Machean betore leaving the courtroont,

Price’s detence lawver Pat Angly said there was a prob- lem with another juror.

Angly said his client recog- nived the juror from work.

As before, the juror was brought in alone. The juror said he didn’t know the accused or had any association with the accused’s former emplover.

Although the 12-person jury was down by only one, the defence lawyer asked for a mistrial which was granted by the judge. (A jury can have a minimum LO members.)

Thackray called the situa- tion an unfortunate proceditr- al problem. Some of the jury members looked disappointed

Police seek trio’s extradition

Jast week that her boytriend sold cocaine. Court information suggested that Wasfi

Fram page 1

as thes left the courtroom,

At the start of the tial, Vhackray made oa) lengthy address ro the jury about what Was expected of them and aspects of daw.

Thackray told the jury that none of them was to have “any desting or any relation ship with the accused during these proceedings.”

He also told them that an individual juror was not. to “announce” a premature deci- sion in the case to other jurors.

The coniments came in the wake of fast: year’s Gillian Guess eeial in which the North Vancouver woman's conduct as a juror led to a charge and conviction for attempting to obstruct justice. Guess is appealing the conviction.

Meanwhile, Price’s murder trial may resume as carly as next week with a new jury.

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He was a high-profile cocaine rrafficker who was serving a drug sentence by house arrest (clectronic monitoring) when he was shot.

Burnaby RCMP are currently seeking the extradition of ail three men. Binahmad and Shoemaker are not challenging their extradi- tions and are expected in Canada within the next three weeks, according to police.

Meanwhile, Wasfi’s name has come up sev- eral times during a trial now under way in New Westminster. The trial involves the execution- style murder of North Vancouver’s Mo Mirhadi. The 21-year-oid was shot in a Lower Lonsdale theatre in 1997.

Michael Caster, 21, of North Vancouver, is charged with first degree murder in connection with Mirhadi’s death,

supplied Mirhadi with the cocaine for sale.

Brown testified she heard from a friend named “Monica” after Mirhadi’s death that Mirhadi owed a S8,000 drug debs to Wasti. Rrown testified that the debt is now rumored to be that of Mirhadi's half-brother, Babak.

Brown, who was evasive when asked if she worked as prostitute, denied on the stand that she had talked ro Wasi. Detence lawyer Paul McMurray read a transcript of a 1997 tele- phone conversation berween Brown and Wasti in which Brown discusses buying 100 cestacy pills from Wasti. Brown testitied that the police may have intercepted her roommate's conver- sation. She denied speaking to Wasti.

The defence lawyer's questions were aimed at showing that people other than Caster may

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