An arrest warrant was issued Nov. 5 for a Houston youth who failed to attend a court hearing for the second time in relation to last year’s pre-graduation party altercations.
The youth first failed to appear in court on Sept. 10, and then again on Nov. 5.
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Although the young person appeared in court on Oct. 1, the matter was then adjourned to allow more time to consult counsel.
Altercations during the party held at Sunset Lake campground on June 8, 2017 resulted in three individuals being taken to hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries.
The youth was one of two people charged with assaulting Gerald Lester Whitford during the party. The co-accused, who also can’t be named due to his young age, was given a conditional release earlier this year and placed on probation for 12 months with a number of conditions.
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Whitford had originally been charged with three counts of aggravated assault for altercations that occurred during the party, but later pleaded guilty to the lesser included offence of assault with a weapon. He was sentenced to a nine-month conditional sentence to be followed by one year of probation in February.
Gerald’s parents told Houston Today earlier this year they believe that further investigation could not only bolster the prosecution’s case against the two youths, but also lead to more people being charged with assaulting their son.
On Feb. 13, 2018, Whitford’s mother-in-law Mavis Goertzen lodged several complaints with the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP. In a copy of the complaint, obtained by Houston Today, Goertzen says the RCMP “failed to conduct a proper investigation,” specifying that key witnesses had not been interviewed, including her daughter Elisha Goertzen.
Her daughter has since been questioned by the RCMP.
The B.C. Prosecution Service and the RCMP have not commented on this case given that the matters arising from the assault upon Gerald remain before the court.
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