WESTLOCK – The defendant's story was “strange” when he took the stand in his own defence but there is no direct evidence connecting the accused to the crime, said Justice J. Champion.
Matthew Ryan Gale, 33, of Edmonton was found not guilty following a trial in Westlock Court of Justice on Nov. 20. The Crown was proceeding by indictment on several of the charges, which would have meant more jail time if convicted.
“There is no direct evidence tying Mr. Gale to the crimes alleged,” said Justice Champion. “It’s purely circumstantial evidence. There is no DNA, no fingerprints, no video surveillance.”
Following a break-in to a rural Westlock County home that was ransacked and items stolen, Gale was charged with unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm, break and enter, theft under $5,000, possession of break-in instruments, mischief/damage under $5,000, and three counts of possession of property obtained by crime.
Halfway through the trial, Crown prosecutor Andrew Dirgo withdrew the charges of mischief/damage under $5,000 and three counts of possession of property obtained by crime.
The Crown called three civilian witnesses and an RCMP officer to the stand during the trial. Defence lawyer Patrick Edgerton called one witness, the accused, Matthew Gale.
Diana Quinnell testified that in March she got home, which is south of Westlock, and noticed a white truck with a black trailer parked in her yard, and a black car. She saw someone get out of the car and go into her house then seconds later that person and another individual ran out of her home before they fled north towards Westlock.
She described one man as tall and thin with dark hair. She wasn’t able to identify him in court saying, “I probably would not recognize him. I just saw hair and a build.”
“Everything was trashed,” she told the court about her home. “Everything was just a mess.”
Her television was missing as well as a .22 rifle and some appliances.
She called the RCMP and they attended right away. A few hours later an officer called her and asked her to drive about 10 minutes south on Highway 44 to another rural home, which was unoccupied,. The white truck and black trailer were found and police wanted her to identify stolen items, which she did.
Another witness, Geoff Felske took the stand and testified that he was driving home when he saw a tractor sitting outside in a yard and knew that it shouldn't be left out. He called the landowners and they confirmed the tractor shouldn’t be outside so Felske turned around and went back to the yard.
“As I drove in the yard I noticed a fella by the burn barrel," said Felske.
Two of the landowners were also there and Felske testified that he asked them who the “fella” was in the yard. They said they didn’t know.
Felske, Lois Schmidt and Steven Schmidt split up to search the yard. They found a white truck in the garage where the tractor was supposed to be parked. A black trailer was found hidden in a field. A burn barrel contained items that were burning.
They found the accused hiding near a slough and they detained him while they waited for Westlock RCMP. Three officers arrived and arrested Gale.
The unoccupied farm house was also ransacked, court heard.
Gale took the stand in his own defence and said that he had been in Westlock and was trying to get back to Edmonton. He came with a friend, who left before him. He said he didn’t have a cell phone and he didn’t know if his ride was coming so he started walking down Highway 44 towards Edmonton.
He said he got cold and noticed a farmyard that appeared unoccupied, so he went there to warm up by starting a fire. He had Vice-Grips on him at the time of his arrest but said he picked them up in the driveway.
At first he testified that he came to Westlock with a friend and then said it was with a friend of a friend.
“He left me there. I was waiting for a ride but it wasn’t coming so I walked on the highway. I didn’t have a phone. I didn’t want to be there [Westlock home]. They were weird people.”
Justice Champion said Gale’s testimony was “strange” but added, “I cannot fully reject it.”
