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Legal Case Status
Update as of September 10, 2001
Two of the men accused of attacking Jon were found guilty of aggravated assault and sentenced to one year closed custody and
one year probation.
Immediately after the sentence both convicted appealed their sentence on the grounds that 1 year in a youth facility is harsh
and excessive.
One is still free awaiting the appeal, sometime in 2002 and the other is in custody on other charges unrelated to Jonathan's
assault.
It is important to note that if they were in custody, under the Child Family and Community Services Act they would immediately
have the right to apply for a temporary absence pass and also immediately apply for a transfer from secure to open custody or
early release from custody.
All this plus a host of other rights that victims are denied.
Update as of May 22, 2000
A lot has happened since that last update.
The response from the crown attorney was pitiful. Nothing more than "we know better than you
and don't bother us".
Joe has still not received answers to his letter of September 1999 and is not going to let this
issue go away quietly.
There have been several hearings and a court date has been set for October 2000. I will provide
details as they become available.
One of the men that attacked Jon last year was re arrested 4 weeks ago along with his brothers
and his mother for trafficking in drugs as well as 50 other related charges. Hi is currently in
custody and has a bail hearing set for 9:00 am, June 6 at the York Region Courthouse. That will
be interesting to watch.
The other two men are still in the community with their anonymity guaranteed by the law that
was supposed to protect the innocent.
An interesting thing happened at the CBC live radio show where Joe was to have debated the
Justice Minister Anne McLelland (she never debated, just read a prepared statement and left).
That very fact that it will take 18 months to bring Jon's assailants to trial is in itself criminal.
It is also criminal that the pursuit of justice and truth has become lost in the pursuit of the
technicality, the legalistic wasting of time.
Update as of March 12, 2000
At the court hearing on March 7 the Crown Attorney did not attempt to move this case to adult court. So the charges will be
heard under the YOA. We're very disappointed.
Joe feels very strongly that the Crown Attorney had grounds to move the case to adult court. He has written a letter to that
effect to the government telling them why, in his opinion, the Crown Attorney has not taken the correct stance in this case.
Click here to read Joe's letter to the Crown Attorney General asking that this decision
be reviewed.
Update as of January 30, 2000
We were all outraged that the case was dropped from attempted murder to aggravated assault. But we weren't surprised. This is
the effect of the Young Offenders Act. If you care about your kids, make sure you sign our petition or send your own! Don't
let this happen again and again.
Why won't our government listen to our pleas?
Will your son or daughter be the next Jonathan, Matti, Clayton or Sylvain? We not only hope not, we demand not!
We would appreciate every little bit of support that we can get to make our government listen and change this ridiculous
situation!
The next court hearing is March 7 at 8:30 AM in the Newmarket Court on Eagle Street so please lend us your support.
Update as of January 16, 2000
The next hearing of Jonathan's case will take place this Thursday, January 20 at the Newmarket Court ( corner of Eagle Street
and Yonge Streets in Newmarket). It will be held at 8:30 AM in Room 201.
Joe still finds his emotions too raw to attend the hearings.
Update as of December 11, 1999
Once again the court date has been delayed - remanded to January 20, 2000.
Update as of November 26, 1999
On November 18 the three accused, with their lawyers, attended the Newmarket courthouse for a pretrial hearing to finalize the
charges by the crown.Many supporters of Jonathan were in attendance.
The pretrial was deferred until Dec 7, 1999. Here we go again!
Update as of October 16, 1999
On Friday October 8, 1999 in Newmarket Court, where the three accused made a brief appearance, Crown Attorney Mary Lou Dickie
told Mr. Justice William Wolski that it would be premature to proceed with the hearing in light of Wamback's improved
condition, which changes "the
complexity of the crown's case."
"We're waiting until we have a little more information," Dickie told the court.
The judge agreed and put the case over to Nov. 18.
"It seems like a rational approach to the changing medical condition of the crown's key
witness," Wolski said.
It is up to the Crown attorney's office to reduce criminal charges if prosecutors feel that the
facts don't support a charge originally laid by the police.
Assistant Crown attorney Mary Lou Dickie would neither "confirm or deny" suggestions that
the attempted murder charges would be reduced.
Dickie wouldn't comment further, other than to say she still had "other areas to explore."
"This is a touchy issue," she said. " I can't really comment."
Stephen Brown, one of the legal counsel for the accused, said that if the prosecution is considering a lesser charge, it
should be done quickly.
The pivotal issue of whether the case is heard in adult or youth court depends on the
severity of the charge.
Under an attempted murder charge, the defense must show why the accused should not be
tried in adult court.
If the charge is reduced to aggravated assault, the onus switches to the Crown attorney to
prove the case should be heard in adult court rather than in youth court.
Update as of September 10, 1999
The hearing to determine if the case will be moved to adult court is presently scheduled for October 8, 1999. The accused may
not attend the hearing, just their lawyers.
For information on what happened at the September 9th court date, please refer to the media reports dated around that time by
reviewing the MEDIA COVERAGE - ARCHIVED.
Update as of August 31, 1999
The three youths charged with attempted murder in the beating of Jonathan are all out on bail.
The Wambacks lawyers have warned them the sentence might not be much more than a slap on the wrist if the accused, two 17 year
olds and a 16 year old, are convicted in youth court.
They appear in court September 9 to set a date for the trial and the Crown is applying to have them bumped to adult court.
The September 9 hearing is to be held in the Newmarket Court which is located at the corner of Yonge Street and Eagle Street
in Newmarket. The time of the trial is 9:00 AM and it will be held in Room 202.
It is expected to be a long preliminary hearing.
It is also expected a growing number of people - outraged at the beating that has rocked the upscale community since incident
occurred June 29 - will attend the hearing.
"Quite a few people are telling us they're going - someone even said they're considering having T-shirts made up, and others
are saying they're taking the day off work to go." Lozanne Wamback told the Economist & Sun this week, from the room she and
her husband share with their son at the Bloorview MacMillan Centre.
Wamback said a business colleague of her husband's is even arranging for people to attend the court house.
Anticipating a crowd, police said courthouse security will be in force and a judge could exclude anyone causing a disturbance
from the proceedings.
While the teens, who are free on bail, make their third court appearance, Wamback remains in a coma suffering the effects of
brain injury and central nervous system damage.
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