By Charlene Tebbutt

Victim’s Internet search for suspect raises doubt in home invasion case

Oct 16, 2018 | 2:12 PM

A man charged in connection with a home invasion northwest of Prince Albert earlier this year has been found not guilty after a provincial court judge found the homeowner’s use of the Internet may have influenced her testimony in the case.

Jade Ermine, 29, was on trial last week at Prince Albert Provincial Court in connection with the incident, which happened in January at a rural home in the R.M. of Shellbrook. An 82-year-old woman was awoken around 3 a.m. when her home alarm was triggered.

The woman became emotional while testifying in court last week and said that a man broke into her home, shone a flashlight in her face and shoved her before taking off with her purse and vehicle keys. The woman described the man as tall and thin and said he was wearing a hoodie over his head.

The woman testified she later went onto the Internet, on what was described in court as a local “crime watch website” and searched for pictures of some of the suspects identified through the ensuing police investigation. The exact name of the website was not made clear in court.

While he was sure an incident happened and the senior citizen had been traumatized, Judge Steven Schiefner said he couldn’t rely on the woman’s testimony alone. Schiefner said the woman looked at pictures of Ermine, “then came into court and said it was you.” Schiefner also noted that Ermine was not found in the area by police.

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“She did her best to accurately reflect what happened,” Schiefner noted. “It’s not about whether or not [the complainant] was telling the truth … all I have is [her] extremely confident conclusion that you are the person [and] because of that, I have a reasonable doubt in my mind.”

While the Crown said the evidence against Ermine was clear, Ermine’s defence lawyer said that searching for information online effectively “torpedos” witness evidence. Evan Strelioff said the woman saw the assailant briefly in her home while his head was hooded, during what was a very stressful time in the middle of the night.

“ID evidence doesn’t come close to proof,” Strelioff added.

Two other people were charged in connection with the home invasion. Danny Daniels was sentenced to jail time earlier this year, while another – Silas Ermine – is still wanted by police in connection with the January incident.

Charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt