Teen who killed father over Ferrari denied bail pending appeal

A young Vancouver man who murdered his elderly father after a dispute over the purchase of a Ferrari has been denied bail pending his appeal. In June, a B.C. Supreme Court jury found Alexander Shevalev, 22, guilty of the March 2015 second-degree murder of Vladimir Shevalev, 80.

The son, who was 19 at the time of the murder, had stolen $100,000 from his father’s bank account and then bought the used Ferrari.

When the father demanded the return of the vehicle, he had a confrontation with his son in his luxury Coal Harbour apartment.

The accused choked his dad from behind and then placed his body on the bed in the master bedroom before leaving the apartment without seeking medical assistance for the father.

In his early statements to a 911 operator, the coroner and the police, Shevalev did not mention the physical confrontation, leaving authorities initially to consider the death was from natural causes.

His version of events changed several more times in the following days. At trial he claimed to have acted in self-defence, but the jury rejected that argument and convicted him.

During the trial, Shevalev remained on bail, with his mother, Larisa Zemtsova, acting as a surety, guaranteed by $2 million.

His lawyer argued that he should be released on bail pending determination of the appeal on the same restrictive terms as those in place before his conviction. But the Crown opposed bail, noting the seriousness of the offence and the quality of the prosecution case, as well as arguing that the grounds for appeal were not particularly strong.

The Crown also argued that the flight risk for Shevalev, who has strong ties to Russia, was greater after conviction, in particular given his family’s wealth and his track record of accessing funds illicitly.

In her ruling in the case, B.C. Court of Appeal Justice Gail Dickson concluded that Shevalev had not established on a balance of probabilities that his detention was not necessary in the public interest.

“Despite his compliance with bail pending appeal and even with the benefit of vigilant monitoring on the part of authorities and his mother, the reality is that Mr. Shevalev is a resourceful young man from a wealthy family with a strong connection to Russia, a history of untruthfulness and experience in accessing funds illicitly,” said the judge.