Man not guilty in killing of drug dealer

EDMONTON — An Edmonton man accused of helping lure a drug dealer into a fatal trap in May 2012 was acquitted Thursday after a judge concluded that eyewitness testimony during his trial was unreliable.

Although 30-year-old Byron Crane admitted he was present at the killing of Daniel Barata, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Joanne Goss was not convinced he participated.

“The Crown has not established beyond a reasonable doubt that he was anything more than merely present at a meeting, which could have been a planned robbery or a drug purchase gone wrong,” the judge said. “Mere presence at the scene or passive acquiescence to the commission of a crime by another does not make a person a party to that offence. Sometimes, people are in the wrong place at the wrong time.”