A Vancouver Provincial Court judge has acquitted a man of aggravated assault, saying identification evidence showed it was likely the accused committed the crime but that it had not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt as required.
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms gives all people charged with an offence in Canada the right to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
In a June 19 decision, Judge Gregory Rideout said Shone Robert Selbie was charged with the Aug. 11, 2024 aggravated assault of M.R. in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.
“Unfortunately, the complainant passed away prior to trial,” Rideout said. “No explanation was provided to explain the cause of death.”
The judge said that, to present the case, Crown prosecutor Jacinta Lawton relied on assault scene photographs and CCTV footage downloaded from two supportive housing buildings located in the 400-block of East Cordova Street.
Lawton also relied on recognition evidence of a Vancouver Police Department constable who identified the accused in court after viewing a series of three photographs of an individual contained in an identification bulletin obtained from the CCTV footage.
Rideout said it was admitted as a fact that the CCTV footage depicted M.R. being attacked by a male suspect resulting in a serious laceration to the left side of her cheek.
The weapon was apparently a box cutter, Rideout said.
Lawton suggested the constable was capable of identifying the accused due to other interactions with him.
Selbie’s lawyer Jessica Dawkins said the CCTV footage was of average quality and presented no clear full facial image of him.
Rideout found the constable’s identification was insufficient, that a “court must also be satisfied, in assessing the totality of identification evidence, that the Crown has established an accused has such outstanding features or characteristics as to make an identification comparatively free from doubt.”
He said the identification was not established beyond a reasonable doubt. As such, Rideout acquitted Selbie of the charge.
