Bail had to be granted to man now accused in 3 killings: lawyer

The decision to grant bail to a man charged with killing three people less than a week after he was freed shouldn't be blamed on the criminal justice system, a Calgary lawyer said Wednesday.

"The system's working perfectly fine," said Charlie Stewart, head of the Criminal Defence Lawyer's Association of Calgary, on Wednesday.

"What everybody seems to forget is that when you're charged with a criminal offence, you're not guilty — you're presumed to be innocent. And if you're presumed to be innocent then the burden is on the Crown to show the judge cause why you should be detained."

Stewart said Real Christian Honorio had to be granted bail because police and the Crown failed to prove that he was either a flight risk or likely to re-offend, adding there was no way for the justice of the peace who made the decision to know that would happen.

Honorio, 25, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder on Tuesday in connection with an attack on New Year's Day at a southeast restaurant. He was out on bail at the time of the gang-related shooting after being charged in December with dozens of drug and weapons offences.

"Of course there'll be aberrations," Stewart said. "Of course cases will be where you're released on bail and three days later you kill somebody because we're not mind readers."

Stewart said he understands why the public would be upset about Honorio being granted bail, but any legal changes would have to come from the federal government.

Alberta lobbying for reverse onus on bail

Alberta Justice Minister Alison Redford and the Calgary police have been lobbying the federal government for reverse onus on bail, which would require individuals to prove why they should be released into the community, as opposed to the Crown and police making the case against it.

John Dooks, head of the Calgary Police Association, which represents rank-and-file officers, supports the reverse onus, as well as tougher rules for those charged with gun crimes.

"You have an individual who's charged with possession of weapons, explosive devices — these instruments are not for shoplifting, they're not for committing frauds," he said Wednesday.

'The courts aren't just making decisions willy nilly.' —Tonii Roulston, defence lawyer

"They're used for maiming, for killing, for blowing people up, for causing destruction. These type of individuals have to be detained in custody when they're charged with these serious offences."

But Balfour Der, who represents one of the other people charged in the same December case as Honorio, said police simply did not have enough evidence to keep the suspects in custody.

"Their involvement in this orginal crime was marginal at best. They were found in a house — nothing connected them to it," he said on Wednesday.

Bystander killed in shooting

Honorio's lawyer, Tonii Roulston, pointed out that bail hearings can take anywhere from an hour for minor charges to up to two days for more serious offences.

"The courts aren't just making decisions willy nilly," she said. "They actually follow a guideline that's set by the legislature. So I find it really inappropriate to go through and chastise or imply that the judges aren't seriously considering interim release when in fact they are."

Killed in the New Year's Day shooting were Sanjeev Mann, 22, described by police as a known gang member, and Aaron Bendle, 21, called an associate of Mann's.

The third victim, Keni Su'a, 43, was an innocent bystander who was gunned down in the parking lot after fleeing the restaurant.