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Manslaughter charges against Penticton man stayed in connection with fatal 2017 shooting

Penticton RCMP respond to a shooting at an apartment building on Creston Ave. on April 26, 2017. Thirty-nine-year-old Penticton man Sylvain Demers has had his charge of manslaughter stayed by the Crown. Global News

Sylvain Demers has been released from a charge of manslaughter, which was stayed by the Crown on Monday in B.C Supreme Court.

Demers was on trial for manslaughter in connection to the death of Randal Toews.

The 39-year-old Penticton man was supposed to have a pre-trial conference on Feb. 25 but Crown Counsel was no longer satisfied the evidence brought forward would lead to a conviction.

Crown says the decision to stay the charges in this case was made after a reassessment of the available evidence following the preliminary inquiry in March 2019.

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After it considered the evidence as clarified at the preliminary inquiry and the rest of the file materials, the prosecutor concluded the charge approval standard was no longer met, according to Daniel McLaughlin, spokesperson for the B.C. Prosecution Service.

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According to McLaughlin, in these circumstances, a stay of proceedings is the appropriate course of action.

Toews was shot and killed on April 26, 2017, in an apartment on the 900-block of Creston Avenue in Penticton.

The daylight shooting shocked the neighbourhood.

Demers was out on bail at the time his charge of manslaughter was stayed.

You can see the original story here.

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