Andrew Raven
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 05/05) - A suspect in a series of break-ins saw the charges against him dismissed Wednesday after four crucial police witnesses were not available for his trial.

The man was facing nine charges, including six counts of break and enter, that stretched from November 2004 to January 2005.

The news angered several business owners who were victimized during the crime spree.

"I think it is absolutely disgusting," said Jennifer Marchant, manager of Centre Square Mall. "This is the kind of individual who should be locked up."

The man was accused of breaking into a government office above the downtown shopping centre.

Police believe a knife was used to slice through a section of drywall, though other details of the theft were not released.

Marchant said surveillance camera footage showed two men near the government offices, but their faces were not identifiable. Another man implicated in the break-in - among several others - is scheduled to stand trial in September.

Joey Leonardis, who owns JSL Mechanical, a machine shop in the Kam Lake industrial area, was also disappointed the charges were dismissed.

"It is frustrating that the guy was caught...and now he can go free," Leonardis said.

The case against the man rested largely on a statement he gave to police after his arrest in January, Crown attorney Darren Mahoney told the court.

But four of the six officers who questioned the man were not around Wednesday.

Territorial court Judge Bernadette Schmaltz denied a request from Mahoney to postpone the case until September. One police witness was on vacation while another was getting married, Mahoney said. "The Crown knew it would rely on the statements to secure a conviction," Schmaltz said. "The Crown has been guilty of negligence in not having the witnesses present."

Adjourning this trial could potentially put (the man's) constitutional rights in jeopardy."

Beyond the statement, Mahoney said the Crown case was largely circumstantial. Without the evidence, he was essentially forced to abandon the nine charges.

The same man, who represented himself after firing his lawyer this spring, was scheduled to appear in territorial court yesterday morning for another trial. He is accused of uttering threats.