Witness struggles to keep story straight as Jesse Bleck trial continues
CBC
The trial of the man charged with failing to remain at the scene of a collision that left teenaged cyclist Tristan Roby with life-altering injuries resumed Tuesday, with the Crown struggling to get clear and audible answers from a key witness.
Continuing his testimony Tuesday was Ahmad Jamal, a friend of the accused Jesse Bleck.
Jamal was questioned about whether or not he was driving the Nissan Ultima that struck Roby on the night of July 21, 2019.
Bleck, 26, is charged with failing to remain at the scene of a collision causing bodily harm and driving while prohibited. Roby, then 17, was struck while riding his bike with a friend on Exeter Road. The collision has left him with extensive brain injuries. He now uses a wheelchair and requires constant care.
Crown prosecutor Artem Orlov tried to clarify with Jamal his conflicting statements made to police and during his testimony at this trial.
The court has heard that Jamal called police in September of 2019 to say that he was driving the car that night. However in other statements to police, Jamal has said that isn't true.
Orlov suggested Jamal had told police he was driving to spare Bleck a jail sentence because Bleck has children and Jamal doesn't.
"You made the choice to take the blame for someone else and you regretted it?" asked Orlov.
Jamal answered: "No."
Throughout the day, Jamal was a challenging witness. Most of the time, he spoke in whispering murmur and frequently had to be asked to speak up, reminded to face the microphone, or both. Often his answers came out as a single word, and only after the judge or the lawyers questioning Jamal asked him to clarify his answer.
Orlov pointed to a statement Jamal gave to a police officer in response to the question: "Do you know who the driver is?"
Jamal said "yes."
The follow up question from the officer was "Who is the driver?"
Jamal's answer in that transcript was "I don't like to say names. I don't want to put nobody on the spot."
In the closing days of the NDP leadership race, Avi Lewis's past activism has resurfaced. But the front-runner's campaign is standing by his past work and a decade-old vision that's been both criticized within the New Democrats' ranks and weaponized by their opponents.
Some rural municipalities want the province to know ambulance response times and basic care in their communities are not meeting the mark.
The sighting of a sniper on Saturday during St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Waterloo was met with fear and shock by some partygoers, but one policing expert says this was a proactive measure designed to keep the crowd safe.
A 25-year old Prince Edward Island man has been sentenced to six months in jail for firearms offences.
Closing schools, stalled housing starts — not common headlines in Alberta's booming cities.
Two MLAs and the Ka'a'gee Tu First Nation chief say they welcome the territory’s new trespassing legislation because they believe it will help address concerns about uninvited guests intruding in people’s homes and refusing to leave.
U.S. President Donald Trump is struggling to persuade other nations to help protect commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — a development that analysts say is partly the result of treating allies with contempt since returning to the White House last year.
The actions of an Alberta judge who lost his temper and briefly jailed a defence lawyer in the middle of a trial were “unacceptable,” ruled the Judicial Inquiry Board, which recommended a 30-day suspension without pay for Justice Gordon Yake.
Irish-born chef Liam Brannigan says there are four words he loves to hear about the food he serves as he drives his food truck around southwestern Ontario.
Last spring, the Newfoundland and Labrador government announced a loan guarantee program for restaurants — but so far, businesses haven't tapped into it.
Several organizations and groups in Greater Sudbury, Ont. remain closed or operating under a modified schedule after a major storm hit the region Sunday night.
As Halifax scraps plans for a sobering centre, staff at similar facilities across Canada say they’re a crucial part of the continuum of care needed to address homelessness and addiction.
New Brunswick will table its latest budget Tuesday after months of warnings from Premier Susan Holt that spending in some areas will have to come down.