Jayme Lesperance

During a trial for first degree murder and attempted murder, a Crown witness recanted her previous statements and testified in chief that a third party named 'George' was with her at the time of the shooting, rather than the accused.

The Crown requested a ruling that the defence must bring a formal third party suspect application before cross-examining the witness on this issue.

The court ruled that no application was required, as the evidence was direct evidence of a third party suspect that had already been elicited by the Crown, establishing its own logical relevance without the need for a formal application.

The accused was charged with multiple offences arising from a home invasion and robbery.

The Crown's case relied entirely on the recognition evidence of two victims who were familiar with the accused.

The court found the identification evidence unreliable due to discrepancies between the victims' trial testimony and their initial statements to police, as well as the brief time they had to observe the perpetrators.

Furthermore, an alibi witness raised a reasonable doubt as to the accused's whereabouts at the time of the robbery.

The accused was acquitted on all counts.