Mouse
03-10-2007, 11:34 AM
Still in the slammer 'til June 11
Toronto Sun, March 4, 2007
By MARK BONOKOSKI
NEWMARKET -- For those recording history to its exact moment, it was at precisely 9:44 a.m. on Friday that Bob the Moose finally reared his head in provincial court, his epic trial now mercifully entering its last throes at the Old Tannery complex.
For a while, however, it looked like a dramatic no-show -- despite the fact Justice of the Peace Ann Forfar had ordered his physical presence in a loosely-interpreted "habeas capitis" motion -- "show me the head" -- so that Bob could be duly identified as a bona fide stuffed moose head, and officially logged in to court documents as Exhibit No. 6 in the case of Regina vs. Kenneth Douglas Procyk.
Excuses of wretched weather, and the ministry of natural resources' supposed inability to find a large enough vehicle to transport the mounted moose head to court, despite having a week's notice to comply with the order, were simply not going to fly.
While attempts were made to spirit Bob the Moose through an innocuous-looking side door usually reserved for manacled prisoners, veteran Sun photographer Veronica Henri, savvy to all tricks, was able to intercept the transfer, and rattle off about 30 frames of digital images as MNR officer Doug Poirier and unidentified security personnel wrestled Bob the Moose -- now 40 minutes late for his court appearance -- out of the hatch of an unmarked grey Dodge Caravan, and into the courthouse proper.
It was the first time Bob the Moose has been seen in public since he was crated up for sale, and seized by U.S. Customs at the Niagara Falls-Lewiston border crossing in December 2005 -- all leading to Ken Procyk, an Aurora businessman, being charged by the MNR with the sale of wildlife parts without a permit or a licence, and caught under the umbrella of a law primarily designed to snare lowlifes involved in the illegal sale of poached black bear gall bladders to a typically Asian black market.
Prosecuting for the MNR is ministry lawyer Demetrius Antonios Kappos. Acting for the defence is Newmarket attorney Lonny Mark. Both brought their cases to a close on Friday, and will deliver their summations when court resumes June 11.
JP Forfar will then pass judgment, although she may defer her decision to a later date in order to fully digest the copious amount of evidence and argument presented during the course of three days in court spaced out over months.
AN APPEAL?
Then -- God spare us all -- it will finally be over.
Toronto Sun, March 4, 2007
By MARK BONOKOSKI
NEWMARKET -- For those recording history to its exact moment, it was at precisely 9:44 a.m. on Friday that Bob the Moose finally reared his head in provincial court, his epic trial now mercifully entering its last throes at the Old Tannery complex.
For a while, however, it looked like a dramatic no-show -- despite the fact Justice of the Peace Ann Forfar had ordered his physical presence in a loosely-interpreted "habeas capitis" motion -- "show me the head" -- so that Bob could be duly identified as a bona fide stuffed moose head, and officially logged in to court documents as Exhibit No. 6 in the case of Regina vs. Kenneth Douglas Procyk.
Excuses of wretched weather, and the ministry of natural resources' supposed inability to find a large enough vehicle to transport the mounted moose head to court, despite having a week's notice to comply with the order, were simply not going to fly.
While attempts were made to spirit Bob the Moose through an innocuous-looking side door usually reserved for manacled prisoners, veteran Sun photographer Veronica Henri, savvy to all tricks, was able to intercept the transfer, and rattle off about 30 frames of digital images as MNR officer Doug Poirier and unidentified security personnel wrestled Bob the Moose -- now 40 minutes late for his court appearance -- out of the hatch of an unmarked grey Dodge Caravan, and into the courthouse proper.
It was the first time Bob the Moose has been seen in public since he was crated up for sale, and seized by U.S. Customs at the Niagara Falls-Lewiston border crossing in December 2005 -- all leading to Ken Procyk, an Aurora businessman, being charged by the MNR with the sale of wildlife parts without a permit or a licence, and caught under the umbrella of a law primarily designed to snare lowlifes involved in the illegal sale of poached black bear gall bladders to a typically Asian black market.
Prosecuting for the MNR is ministry lawyer Demetrius Antonios Kappos. Acting for the defence is Newmarket attorney Lonny Mark. Both brought their cases to a close on Friday, and will deliver their summations when court resumes June 11.
JP Forfar will then pass judgment, although she may defer her decision to a later date in order to fully digest the copious amount of evidence and argument presented during the course of three days in court spaced out over months.
AN APPEAL?
Then -- God spare us all -- it will finally be over.