An Alberta member of the legislature has been found guilty in a hit and run after the judge noted he didn’t provide any evidence to back up his alibi.
Derek Fildebrandt was fined $402 in court Monday.
“If it (the hit and run) happened, I wasn’t aware of it, but I accept the traffic court’s decision,” Fildebrandt said after the ruling.
He declined to comment further.
READ MORE: Embattled AlbertaP MLA Derek Fildebrandt heading to court for driving-related incident
Fildebrandt, 32, was found to have backed into his neighbour’s van with his red pickup truck near the legislature on the morning of June 6, 2016, before driving away without leaving a note.
Commissioner Stewart Douglas noted in his decision that the complainant, Amy Rawlinson, was sitting on her ground-floor condo balcony that morning about 10 metres away.
Douglas said he believed Rawlinson when she identified Fildebrandt as the person who walked to the pickup truck and got in just seconds before she heard a crash from the truck hitting the van.
There was no physical evidence produced at the trial. Fildebrandt told court he had traded in the pickup about a month later.
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He also told court during earlier proceedings in February that he was not at his condo at the time in question because he was at a morning meeting of the Wildrose party caucus.
He promised to bring multiple witnesses to court to prove his assertion, but when the trial resumed in September, he didn’t bring any witnesses or produce other evidence.
READ MORE: Alberta MLA Derek Fildebrandt says he has no memory of hitting anything with his truck
The commissioner said that was key.
“The defendant cannot say with certainty where he was on June 6, 2016,” said Douglas.
Outside court, Fildebrandt’s lawyer Dale Fedorchuk said they tried to find witnesses from the caucus meeting but were unsuccessful.
Fedorchuk said there was no roll call or written record or minutes of who attended or spoke at the meeting.
“It was difficult to find someone who said, ‘Yes, I remember that specific date and I remember him (Fildebrandt) sitting in that meeting.’ And that’s the problem, frankly, that we faced.”
Fedorchuk said it’s important to remember this is not a Criminal Code offence.
“This is a matter of a fine associated with a traffic safety offence, which he will pay today,” Fedorchuk said. “It’s a traffic offence.”
Fedorchuk said Fildebrandt was disappointed with Monday’s result.
“The offence consists of failing to leave a note or notifying the owner of a collision. The Crown only had to prove that there was a collision and that he was involved in the collision, which the court was satisfied took place on that particular day.”
READ MORE: Derek Fildebrandt advertised taxpayer-subsidized apartment on Airbnb
Fildebrandt is to be back in court in February to face charges that he shot and killed a deer on private property last month without permission from the landowner. He has already said he shot the animal and that he apologized to the landowner.
He is a first-term legislature member representing the constituency of Strathmore-Brooks. His political status remains in limbo.
The hit and run was one of a trio of revelations that forced him to quit the caucus of Alberta’s new United Conservative Party this summer and sit as an Independent.
The new party was formed when the Progressive Conservatives and Wildrose parties merged.
Fildebrandt was also found to have been subletting on Airbnb his taxpayer-subsidized accommodation in Edmonton and double-expensing some meals.
He is seeking to return to the United Conservative fold, but party leader Jason Kenney has said he wants to wait until Fildebrandt’s court issues are resolved.
Watch below: Ongoing Global News coverage of Derek Fildebrandt
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Alberta MLA Derek Fildebrandt in court -
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MLA Derek Fildebrandt steps down from United Conservative Party -
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The political fallout after MLA Derek Fildebrandt steps down from United Conservative Party -
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Derek Fildebrandt resigns from UCP caucus amid questions about his expense claims -
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MLA Derek Fildebrandt accused of claiming meal expenses twice -
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Alberta MLA Derek Fildebrandt accused of claiming meal expenses twice -
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UCP reacts to report Derek Fildebrandt advertised his home on Airbnb while claiming living allowance -
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Derek Fildebrandt Airbnb scandal leads to calls for rule changes
With files from Caley Ramsay, Global News.
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