3 alleged robbers walk away from home invasion charges

CBC North, Canada
July 15 2005

Last updated Jul 15 2005 09:50 AM MDT
CBC News

Three men facing the prospect of long prison sentences for a violent
home invasion in Yellowknife were set free on Friday.

The men were facing several charges in connection with a January 2004
residential robbery that was viewed by many Yellowknifers as a sign
that the small city is no longer exempt from big-city crime.

The charges against Burton Dodman, Gary Taylor and Wade Sutherland
were stayed because the Crown could not arrange for the two victims
of the home invasion to testify.

The victims, who worked as diamond cutters, have returned to their
homes in Armenia and the Ukraine.

“We looked at various options as to how we could have their testimony,”
said Crown prosecutor Shelley Tkatch. “We tried to have them back
in Canada, using transcripts or using video-link technology, and
unfortunately none of these options worked out, so we were unable to
get any testimony from these two.”

The court heard that a year and a half ago, shortly after 1 a.m.,
the two men were awoken in their apartment by four masked men
brandishing knives.

According to the testimony the victims gave at the preliminary
inquiry, the invaders stole cash and other items from the apartment,
tied the men up and used their bank cards to withdraw $1,000 from
their accounts.

Police found an automatic teller receipt with a partial fingerprint
linked to one of the suspects outside the bank where the withdrawals
were made.

At the same suspect’s home, police also found the butts of Armenian
cigarettes, the same kind stolen during the break in.

The only man who has been punished for the home invasion is the person
who reportedly had the most minor role in the crime.

Michael Payne pleaded guilty in April of 2004, telling the court that
the three older men played bigger roles.

Payne was sentenced to three years in jail for his own participation.