Travis Vader sentenced on matters unrelated to the McCanns

EDMONTON – Travis Vader will serve just one more day in prison for arson and a string of property crimes, a Court of Queen’s Bench judge has decided.

However, he remains in custody for other offences.

Justice Joanne Veit ruled Thursday that Vader must be given extra credit for some of the time he served in the Edmonton Remand Centre. That is because Vader had to be kept in segregation after police named him as the sole suspect in the disappearance and suspected murder of Lyle and Marie McCann, an elderly St. Albert couple last seen on their way to British Columbia in the summer of 2010.

The resulting media attention meant Vader could not be held within the regular prisoner population after his arrest on offences unrelated to the McCanns, Veit said.

“The police were acting appropriately. The institution was acting appropriately and unfortunately Mr. Vader had to suffer the effects of that.”

Veit sentenced Vader to a total of 33-and-a-half months in prison for his offences in the Whitecourt and Barrhead areas in December 2009. Vader, 39, was convicted in October of charges that include break and enter, arson, theft, possession of stolen property, attempted theft and operating a vehicle while disqualified.

With the extra credit given to Vader for the time he spent in remand, Vader must serve one additional day, Veit said.

“Because of that publicity, and only because of that publicity … he was put in administrative segregation,” she said.

“These are the conditions Mr. Vader was in for several months during the time that I’m dealing with.”

However, Vader is still being held in custody for other property-related offences that are scheduled for a trial next year, said Crown prosecutor Michelle Doyle. That means he will not be released Friday.

Vader must also provide a DNA sample to the DNA databank, Veit said.