Courtroom packed
Courtroom packed - The Markham Economist & Sun - September 11, 1999
by Jennifer Brown
They appeared for no more than five minutes, but a packed, tense courtroom greeted the three teens charged with attempted
murder in the attack on Jonathan Wamback.
Most of those in the courtroom were supporters of the Wamback family. With every seat filled, some people stood in the
hallway while another group held vigil outside.
Some were busy soliciting signatures for a petition demanding a tougher Young Offenders Act - a petition that already boasts
22,000 signatures.
Others held placards protesting the act, including one sign that suggested Wambacks' attackers beat him into a coma and then
laughed about it in court. "Stop the injustice of the Young Offenders Ac Now!" it read.
Supporter Cheryl Taylor wore a white shirt with the message, written in magic marker, "What would you do if your child was
brutally beaten into a coma?"
Once spectators were seated inside the court, police escorted the three teens, who cannot be identified under the act, into
the courtroom.
All were dressed casually, and each was represented by their own lawyer and accompanied by at least one of their parents.
Standing side by side, the three were silent, with their backs to the crowd.
Within minutes, the teens were ordered by the Justice of the Peace, Robert Leggate, to reappear in court October 8 for a
pre-trial hearing .
As the teens were then led out of the court, several spectators lingered in their seats. Some commented on the fact that the
accused are free on bail while Jonathan lies comatose in a hospital room.
Escorted by the police to the parking lot, the teens and their families were followed by members of the press, causing a small
scuffle between a mother and one of the accused.
While the community rallied around their cause, Jonathan's parents Joe and Lozanne were with their son at the Bloorview
McMillan rehab centre.
We can't go there (to court), we want to stay away from there, Lozanne said.
Jonathan was beaten just steps from his Newmarket home June 29.
The 15-year-old has been in a coma for more than two months.
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