Accused in fatal swarming denied bail
A judge has refused to release a suspect in the beating and stabbing death of a young man outside the downtown Vinyl Club last fall.
Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Suzanne Bensler on Monday denied bail to Franz Emir Cabrera, 19, who is charged with second-degree murder. Evidence from the hearing cannot be reported because of a publication ban.
Cabrera is one of five people facing murder charges in the death of Lukas Strasser-Hird, 18, during an altercation between two groups outside the bar Nov. 23. Cabrera also faces unrelated drug trafficking charges, and was on bail on those charges at the time.
Joch Pouk, 20, and Ryiad Shlah, 20, were released previously by other judges after posting substantial amounts of cash and sureties.
Nathan Paul Gervais, 18, who is charged with first-degree murder, will appear in court Friday to set a date for his bail hearing. Jordan Lee Liao, 19, has yet to apply for bail on a second-degree murder charge.
All five co-accused are expected to be back in provincial court Feb. 28 to take the next step in the process.
Strasser-Hird had recently returned to Calgary after studying at the Santa Cruz International School in Bolivia and was out with friends when they were confronted by another group at the downtown nightclub.
The groups were eventually separated by bar staff, with StrasserHird’s group taken through the club and ushered out the back door.
His group was confronted again and a second brawl ensued, with Strasser-Hird suffering life-threatening injuries. He died in hospital.