Michael J. found himself on the wrong end of several judgements. He lost his appeal against the $17,000 duty and penalty assessed by us, His (now ex-) wife came up and made application in Queen’s Bench Court for the $255,000.00 cash and was awarded half of it. And he faced the likelihood that the other judgements would go against him. He did get a break with our Criminal Charges though. Our Crown Attorney, not wanting to have to bring witnesses from BC, Nevada, and Washington offered a plea bargain on our charges, and he entered a plea for the illegal possession of the handgun, and the unsafe storage, the other charges being dropped. Part of the plea was that his rifle and shotgun would be returned to him.
Kevin’s first trip to Calgary for court ended up with court not going ahead, as Michael J. didn’t show up. Turned out that he was turned away at the border, but he neglected to tell them he had a court date to show up. The second trip was much more interesting even though the trial didn’t go ahead again. Seeing the writing on the wall he had his lawyer decided that they would not go ahead with the trial and plead out to the charges. Kevin had taken his rifle and shotgun with him to return to him, and after court they were at Calgary Customs and Excise sections office. When he signed for the firearms Michael J. asked where the ammunition was for them, to which Kevin replied that it wasn’t being returned, that not being part of the deal. It was too much for Michael J. and he snapped.
He turned red and started to shake and then lunged for Kevin (a rather foolish thing to do seeing as Kevin stood 6’7” and weighed about 285 rather fit pounds). The other members from Calgary C&E grabbed him and restrained him, as he screamed at Kevin. “You… you… you…” he searched for the ultimate expletive to hurl at Kevin. Finally, he thought of it “You’re just as bad as that KINES!!”
To add insult to injury, when he settled down the other members asked Kevin if duty and penalty had been assessed on the rifle and shotgun. It hadn’t so they sat down and hammered out the form and assessed it.
Sometimes, when I relate this story to people, they seem quite sympathetic to Michael J. (quite often it is someone who has gone through a divorce). I feel none for him. He showed nothing but contempt for the law, the courts and the police. It was quite evident from his actions and from his notes that he felt that he was smarter than everyone (his wife, her lawyer, people at the border, the law south of the border and in Canada, and the courts) and that he could simply come up north and it would be a simple matter for him to put one over on everyone. He ended up being sent back to the States, and probably still can’t enter Canada, he still had to deal with his divorce settlement, lost half of the cash he brought up here, paid thousands of dollars in legal fees, more in duty and penalties, fines for working illegally and for the Criminal Charges. And for no reason other than he thought he was smarter than everyone else, and that the law didn’t apply to him.
It was, without a doubt, one of the most interesting files I ever worked on, and while not the most satisfying thing I’ve done, it certainly carried a great deal of satisfaction. And I have to admit, quite often, while I would be working the highway at, say, Fort Providence, that I’d fantasize about pulling over another new SUV pulling a big boat and walk up to the driver to see Michael J. sitting behind the wheel, making another escape into the wild.
Comments
7 responses
Clare, this series has been a great read.
I’ve really enjoyed this story – both your excellent writing and your thoughtful opinions about Michael J. I cracked up when I read “Finally, he thought of it “You’re just as bad as that KINES!!””
I’m looking forward to your next RCMP adventure story. All good wishes to you, Leah, Travis and Hilary for a fabulous 2007. If we were 20 years younger we’d be heading up to your B&B, but our bones are getting creaky and so we’ll have to be content reading about your life in the Arctic and your fascinating family history. Thanks for a most enjoyable read and great photos throughout 2006.
Very interesting story, Clare. I’m sure you much have many more to tell.
A good story Clare, and that expletive was a beauty!
“You’re just as bad as that KINES!!”
Them’s fighting words.
Great story, Clare. I’m looking forward to the next one.
Thanks all. This is a story that I love telling, and actually could have gone on. One thing I should have mentioned is that this wasn’t Michael J.’s first flight from a divorce. During the investigation we learned that he had previously been divorced in Illinois and had fled the judgement there, ending up in Nevada.
We had a lot of fun when Kevin came back from Calgary with the story of his rage, and the “You’re just as bad as that KINES!” epithet. It was bandied about the office quite often as a joke. I assume that he saw me as the focus of his plan unraveling and his legal woes. I guess that he felt that, but for me, he would have succeeded. Not the case as it was a plan just ripe for falling apart, but I’ll take all the credit he wants to heap on me.