The trial of two men for a 2003 shotgun attack in downtown Sechelt ended in a plea bargain after the star witness for the prosecution walked away from B.C. Supreme Court June 20.
The two accused, Dusty Dickeson and Daniel Johnson, were on trial for a string of charges, including assault with a weapon against Tim Williams and Daniel Morin. The police never found any guns in this case. Instead, the evidence included a spent shotgun shell, photos showing a spray of bullet holes in the driver's side of Williams' pickup truck and a sawn-off rifle butt found in Dickeson's bedroom.
At the opening of the trial, Crown prosecutor Elliot Poll outlined his case, saying Williams believed Dickeson was casing his house "to do what is commonly known as a grow-op rip."
Williams and Morin, armed with a baseball bat and a metal pipe, went to Dickeson's house to confront him, Poll continued, only to meet Dickeson armed with a shotgun and Morin with a rifle. The incident ended with Dickeson firing the shotgun at Williams, hitting his truck, Poll told the court. Williams and Morin then drove to the RCMP station to report the incident.
Dickeson told police that Williams and Morin shot the truck themselves in an effort to "set him up," Poll said.
Witnesses were a problem from the beginning of the trial. Police were unable to locate Morin to serve him with a subpoena, and Dickeson's girlfriend was subpoenaed but didn't show up in court.
Williams arrived at court and waited all morning to testify, but didn't show up again after the lunch break.
Without Williams' testimony, Poll said, "It didn't leave me with a case."
Poll struck a plea bargain with the defense lawyers, and Dickeson and Johnson both pleaded guilty to possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace. Justice Fraser sentenced both men to two years' probation and 240 hours of community service work. The judgment included some unusual terms: the men must pay child support for their children and they must return to court next October, in front of the same judge, so he can assess their progress.
Dickeson is the 24-year-old Halfmoon Bay man who received international media attention in 2000 when Heather Ingram, his former high school teacher, was convicted of sexually exploiting him. Dickeson has been in jail since May 2004, when he was arrested for breaching his bail conditions. Last October Dickeson was convicted of trafficking cocaine and received a 12-month sentence.
