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9h ago

Crown Drops Case at Start of Trial After Disclosure Failures

Prosecutors said they could not meet constitutional disclosure rules, forcing dismissal of charges against one defendant, prompting scrutiny of evidence-sharing in linked New Brunswick investigations.

Inside of Irving Shipbuilding’s Assembly and Module Hall, one of the largest modern shipbuilding facilities in North America.
Fall colours surround the neighbourhoods around the old Western Memorial Regional Hospital in Corner Brook.
Amanda Wildeman, co-ordinator of the Stop Sisson Mine Coalition, stands outside the Exploration, Mining and Petroleum Conference with other coalition members in Fredericton on Tuesday.
The intersection of Lancaster Avenue and Whipple Street, where Ximena Arboleda, 30, was found unresponsive on Dec. 24, 2024, is seen last week. Her husband Diego Osorio, 28, is on trial for second-degree murder in her death.

Overview

  • The Crown told a judge on Wednesday that it could not fulfil its Stinchcombe disclosure obligations and offered no evidence at the start of Andrew Minifie’s trial, leading the court to enter not-guilty pleas and end the prosecution.
  • Minifie’s case had been delayed for more than a year by defence complaints about missing material from related investigations, and prosecutors said some of the evidence sought related to the February 2025 Berry Mills home invasion in which Brian Justin Johnson died.
  • Two men charged in the Berry Mills home invasion — Codi Timothy Martin and Joshua Tyler Carvell — remain before the courts and will have trial dates set separately, while disclosure issues from linked files are under continued scrutiny.
  • Separate criminal developments include new arrests in the Elsipogtog homicide: a man faces a first-degree murder charge and Kelsey Clair, accused of being an accessory after the fact, has obtained counsel and will seek bail at King’s Bench.
  • Local governance and public-safety matters moved forward this week with Miramichi council keeping AI data-centre bylaw changes on hold as residents protest, Vitalité’s board chair announcing his departure while the health minister denied ulterior motives, and Saint John staff recommending delaying red-light/speed camera rollout because municipalities would bear costs while the province retains fine revenues.