Second of seven accused seeking bail
Michael Shane McNab spent much of Thursday in the prisoners’ box at Regina Court of Queen’s Bench as he listened to the Crown outline its case against him and six other males in the August 2014 death of Shawn Roderick Douglas.
McNab was at court for a bail hearing, which ended with Justice Brian Barrington-Foote ordering a bail report that is to look into whether electronic monitoring might be available as a condition of release.
The hearing was set over to Nov. 2 to allow time for the preparation of the report and for the judge to consider whether or not he will release McNab.
Details of evidence heard and submissions made during the daylong hearing cannot be reported because of a court-imposed publication ban, which is usual for such hearings.
McNab — wearing a suit and tie and a downcast expression — began the day by making his first appearance on a direct indictment filed by the Crown, charging him with first-degree murder. Similar direct indictments have been filed against the other six individuals: Aiden James Anaquod, Johnathon Nelson Peepeetch, Joshua Duane Wilson, Dennis Calvin Thompson (whose last name has also been spelled Thomson on some court documents), and two male youths who were aged 16 and 17 at the time of Douglas’ Aug. 7, 2014 death.
While all seven have been charged with first-degree murder since their arrests in August 2014, the direct indictment allows the Crown to take the case straight to trial, bypassing the preliminary hearing stage.
Preliminary hearings are held at the provincial court level and allow a judge to determine whether the Crown has sufficient evidence to take the case to trial at Court of Queen’s Bench.
Outside of court, co-Crown prosecutor James Fitz-Gerald declined to comment on the reasons behind the filing of the direct indictment in this case.
McNab’s defence lawyer Doug Andrews expressed some frustration following court hearing, saying, “The decision to direct indict was not made in a timely fashion given the circumstances, and no reasons were ever given.”
According to information released by the Regina Police Service in the days following the homicide, police were called at 5:46 a.m. on Aug. 7 to the 200 block of Quebec Street North for a report of a non-responsive person seen being put into a vehicle. Police arrived and checked the area but the vehicle was gone, and there was little to indicate what had happened.
Close to the same time, police went to a house on the 1600 block of Toronto Street where evidence was reportedly found connecting that residence to the events on Quebec Street North.
It wasn’t until about 1:45 p.m. two days later that Douglas’ body was found in a rural area northeast of the city in the Zehner district, police said.
The suspects were arrested later that day in Saskatoon.
Police have not commented on whether the incident was believed to be gang-related, what the motive might have been, or whether the seven accused and 54-yearold Douglas were known to each other.
A bail hearing was previously held for Anaquod, who was released on conditions.