Bail revoked for man convicted in 2010 murder
CaLGaRy Post-conviction freedom for killer Kyle Ledesma was fleeting, as a judge Monday ordered him back behind bars pending sentencing.
Court of Queen’s Bench Justice David Gates agreed with Crown prosecutor Hyatt Mograbee that Ledesma’s bail should be revoked after a jury convicted him Sunday.
The three-man, eight-woman jury deliberated over parts of three days before finding Ledesma guilty of second-degree murder in the Nov. 27, 2010 shooting death of Calgary bartender Dexter Bain.
It was the same conclusion an earlier jury reached in 2015, before the Alberta Court of Appeal overturned that conviction and ordered a second trial.
Ledesma was granted bail last July as he awaited his retrial. On Sunday, Gates allowed the convicted killer to remain at liberty pending consideration of Mograbee’s application to have bail revoked.
Defence lawyers Rebecca Snukal and Pawel Milczarek had asked that he remain free until Gates rules on his parole ineligibility.
But the judge found detention was necessary “in order to preserve public confidence in the administration of justice.”
“Mr. Ledesma has now been convicted by a jury of second-degree murder,” said Gates. “It would be inappropriate for him to remain at large pending his sentencing hearing.”
The decision was met with relief from Bain’s mother, Kim Godin, who travelled from her home in the U.S. to attend the retrial.
“I’m happy that he’s behind bars,” Godin said outside court. “I feel safe now, I feel much better.”
Ledesma will face an automatic life sentence, but the issue of his parole ineligibility is still to be determined. Gates can set that at anywhere from the mandatory minimum of 10 years up to 25, although the minimum is the norm.
Ledesma has spent 61/2 years in custody since his original arrest.
Under the Criminal Code, an offender serving life for murder is eligible to apply for day parole up to three years before full parole eligibility. If Ledesma were handed the minimum 10 years, he’d be eligible for day parole in about six months.