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Court briefs Man accused of robbery remains in jail Laura Busch Northern News Services Published Friday, January 20, 2012
Sean Qitsualik opted to remain in custody during his Wednesday appearance but reserved the right to a bail hearing in the future. He is next scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 25. Verdict in doctor's latest trial expected today A Yellowknife doctor who has had multiple run-ins with the law in recent years was back in court Wednesday on charges of breaching his probation by having direct contact with a woman he was ordered to stay away from. Dr. Richard Cunningham, who is in his 60s, was on trial Wednesday for allegedly getting into an elevator in May 2011 that was occupied by a woman whom he was forbidden from coming within five metres of. The complainant lives in the same apartment building as Cunningham, but she told the court that being confined in an elevator with him made her feel "trapped" and "very uncomfortable." Both sides made their final submissions to the court Thursday morning. Judge Garth Malakoe is expected to render his verdict this morning at 10 a.m. Cunningham's past convictions include drinking and driving, driving with a suspended licence, falsely declaring having explosives while at the Yellowknife airport, uttering threats and breaching a no-contact order. New charge in boating death incident A man accused of causing the drowning death of his friend on July 1, 2010, appeared in court this week to have a charge added to his case. Henry Basil was previously facing charges of impaired operation of a motorized vehicle and impaired driving causing death. On Tuesday, a new charge of impaired driving over 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood causing death was added. For an impairment charge, the Crown does not have to prove blood alcohol level, but simply that the accused acted in an intoxicated manner. For the new driving over 80 mg charge, the Crown must prove blood alcohol content during the incident, usually with a breathalyzer, explained Crown prosecutor Dan Rideout. Basil was one of three people in a boat that capsized in Akaitcho Bay July 1, 2010. Colin Lafferty drowned in the incident. Basil has elected to be tried by a Supreme Court judge alone. He is scheduled to be back in court Jan. 31 to set a date for a preliminary inquiry, which will determine whether the case will actually go to trial. Security beefed up for cop killer's appeal When Emrah Bulatci - convicted of killing an RCMP officer in 2007 - appeared in appeal court in Yellowknife Tuesday, courthouse security was on high alert, using metal detectors and going through the bags of everyone entering the courtroom. Bulatci was in court to appeal the 2007 ruling that found him guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Const. Christopher Worden in Hay River. Bulatci's lawyer, Charles Davison, argued that police recordings of Bulatci speaking with his mother and girlfriend while he was being detained in North Slave Correctional Centre prior to his trial should never have been admitted by the court.
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