Update July 19, 2016: The discharge is quashed. Ward-Jackson will appear at the Toronto West courthouse on July 28th, where he will be ordered to stand trial.
I’m a little late here, but this is an interesting case that deserves to be followed. The Crown’s move to appeal review came on September 9, almost one month to the day after Justice Di Zio threw out all the charges on August 10. When a case is discharged after a preliminary hearing, it means the judge believes there is no reasonable chance of a conviction at trial.
Those charges were: Possess Prohibited Firearm with Readily Accessible Ammunition, Possess Firearm Without a License and Registration, Possess Firearm Knowing that He Did Not Have a License or Registration, three counts of Possess Prohibited Device, Possess Prohibited Weapon in Breach of Prohibition Order, four counts of Fail to Comply with Recognizance, Possess Cocaine for the Purpose of Trafficking, and Possess Proceeds of Crime.
The firearm in question was a headline-making AK-47.
Unfortunately for Ward-Jackson, despite the discharge from Justice Di Zio, he’s still in the new and newly notorious Toronto South super jail due to another set of charges he faces, allegedly selling guns to Dellen Millard.
There was a prelim for those charges at Old City Hall last month. It was very interesting but remains covered by a publication ban for now. The only thing I’m prepared to tell you is that one of the prosecutors, Jill Cameron, wore red-soled shoes on the first day. Hmm.
If you watch this video closely you’ll see not only the eponymous red shoes but also Joseph Michael Horth aka Spiken Mike taking a ride in a wheel rim. He pleaded guilty to the weapons-related charges back in January, telling the judge at his sentencing that he had found God.
He also testified at the prelim that a guy called John Low had given him the AK-47 as collateral for a small loan and that he had tried to destroy it with a hammer. When that failed he hid it in the crawl space under the house where he was living in Mississauga. Police raided the house and found the gun in January 2014.
Matthew Ward-Jackson is pleading not guilty to all charges against him.
AnnBrocklehurst.com 