Neepawa manhunt suspect granted bail

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This article was published 15/08/2023 (1137 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man who is facing charges for allegedly leading police on a manhunt through Neepawa last week was granted bail to live in Brandon while his charges work their way through the court system.

Robert Johnson, 45, made a successful bid for bail in court on Monday. Johnson is charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle, forcible confinement and flight from a peace officer.

Crown attorney Reid Girard read the evidence for the charges in court. The charges against Johnson have not been proven in court and he remains innocent until proven guilty.

On Aug. 6, Neepawa RCMP received a request to intercept a 2019 Toyota Corolla being driven by a 45-year-old man. Authorities believed that the man was holding a woman against her will in the car with him.

Once police found the car, they attempted to stop it, but the driver fled from police. The car was driving around the community at about 150 kilometres per hour.

Police used a spike belt to try to stop the car, but after the vehicle drove over the belt, it continued on, managing to pass vehicles on the inside lane.

Eventually, the car came to a stop, but when police got to the vehicle, there was no sign of the driver. The 48-year-old woman, however, was found and provided a statement to police. According to her statement, the woman said she had told the man to stop for police and said that she could not leave the car because the man would not stop to let her out.

The next day, on Aug. 7, the Brandon Police Service received information that the man was in the Midway Motel on First Street North. Initially, police were unable to locate the man in the hotel room, but eventually officers did find him under a bed in another room in the motel, where they arrested him.

Johnson is also facing charges of possessing methamphetamine, possessing property obtained by crime, theft under $5,000 and property mischief.

The Crown’s submissions focused on Johnson’s lengthy criminal record, which includes numerous convictions for obstructing a police officer and escaping lawful custody. Girard argued that Johnson was not only a significant flight risk but also a risk to the victim and the community.

The prosecutor cited the fact that Johnson racked up new driving offences while he was still on a driving prohibition, as well as the 45-year-old’s 15 convictions for failing to comply with court orders, as reasons why Johnson would not follow conditions if he was granted bail.

“I would simply suggest today that whatever conditions Your Honour put him on, if you did decide that judicial interim release was appropriate, [that] they would be effectively meaningless because Mr. Johnson would not be liable to follow any conditions, and that would put both the community and the victim in a very real, very significant danger,” Girard said.

Johnson’s defence lawyer, articling student Jordon Hildebrandt, disagreed with the Crown and instead argued that with only one conviction for failing to appear in court, his client could be trusted to come to court to deal with his charges if he was released.

“This is a man who is willing to follow through, go to court, proceed through the proceedings, and allow himself to take the punishment,” Hildebrandt said, adding that much of the criminal record that the Crown relied on in their submissions was dated.

Hildebrandt presented a bail plan for his client, who was born in Port Colborne, Ont., and lives in Niagara Falls, which offered the judge two different options. One option would have Johnson living back home in Niagara Falls, with his niece, who lives in Sault Ste. Marie, acting as his surety. The second plan would have Johnson living at the Safe and Warm shelter in Brandon until he was able to secure a bed at the Behavioural Health Foundation.

Not satisfied that the Crown had met its onus to make a case for why Johnson should remain behind bars, Judge Patrick Sullivan chose to release Johnson to live at the Safe and Warm shelter. The judge said that keeping Johnson in Brandon will help ensure he deals with his charges. The judge also ordered Johnson to report to Brandon police twice a week, and reminded him to follow his release conditions.

“I think you can fairly expect that if you’re back before the court, the likelihood of getting released again in the future is significantly diminished,” the judge said.

Johnson’s matter will next appear in court on Aug. 21.

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