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Island manslaughter suspect found not guilty in Supreme Court

Court accepts accused’s argument of self-defence for 2017 incident in Courtenay
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The 6th Street site of the altercation in Courtenay in 2017. File photo

A man charged in connection with the death at a 6th Street house in Courtenay in 2017 was acquitted in Supreme Court Tuesday.

Justice David Masuhara found Jonathan Billy not guilty in Nanaimo Supreme Court on Aug. 20, following a trial that started in Courtenay in June but was moved to Nanaimo because of scheduling issues around a witness delay. Billy was originally charged with second-degree murder in July 2017 in connection with the incident that took place in the early hours of June 30, 2017.

RELATED STORY: Manslaughter trial begins for man accused of Courtenay killing

Following the decision, Jim Heller, Billy’s lawyer, described his client, now 39, as a man with a difficult past, who had reformed but still had some social contact with people involved with drugs.

“Now he’s got a family, he’s got a job, he’s got a couple kids, but he’s still friends with one guy in particular that lives in that house,” Heller told Black Press.

Billy was at the 6th Street house that night visiting the friend when police arrived, looking for information in connection with a missing girl. Heller notes he called witnesses to establish the character of the victim, Troy Matthew Emmons, who was stabbed. This included one witness the victim had attacked with a knife and who relayed the incident to police a couple of weeks prior to the altercation between Billy and Emmons.

Ultimately, the decision came down to mitigating factors, as Justice Masuhara accepted the argument of self-defence to explain the altercation between Billy and the victim.

“It was quite a case,” Heller said.

Black Press contacted Crown counsel John Boccabella the day after the judgment, but he was not available for comment.



mike.chouinard@comoxvalleyrecord.com

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