National

B.C. sex offender Randall Hopley stays in custody after skipping court date

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 24 Nov, 2023 01:34 PM

A high-risk sex offender arrested by Vancouver police after a 10-day manhunt earlier this month remains in custody awaiting his next court date.

Randall Hopley was to appear in court on Friday, but his case was put off until Dec. 8 in British Columbia provincial court.

Police say Hopley cut off his electronic monitoring device after he walked away from a halfway house in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside on Nov. 4.

Hopley had been on a 10-year supervision order after serving a six-year prison term for abducting a three-year-old boy in southeastern B.C., but he was charged last January for allegedly violating those conditions and was to appear in court Nov. 6.

Police say they arrested the 58-year-old man the following week when he showed up outside a police station to turn himself in because he was feeling cold.

Vancouver Sgt. Steve Addison told media after his arrest that police would recommend to Crown counsel that he be denied bail and remain in custody.

Police don't have anything to suggest Hopley committed more offences while at large this month, Addison said.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Canadian evacuees tell of chaotic scenes in Maui wildfire 'war zone'

Canadians returning from Maui have told of harrowing scenes during their escape from the fire-devastated Hawaiian island. Among the evacuees was British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Matthew Taylor who drove through the ruined town of Lahaina on Thursday and said it resembled a "war zone."

Canadian evacuees tell of chaotic scenes in Maui wildfire 'war zone'

BC midwives and Province agree on 3 year wage increasing agreement

The new deal includes a series of fee increases and measures that the province says will provide more supports for Indigenous midwifery. A vote among members of the Midwives Association of British Columbia on July 31 garnered 99 per cent support for the agreement, with 89 per cent of eligible association members taking part in the ballot.

BC midwives and Province agree on 3 year wage increasing agreement

Harjot Singh Samra wanted Canada wide

Harjot Singh Samra, 27, was to report to his halfway house in Vancouver once he was released from prison yesterday, but failed to do so. Samra is 5’9″, weighs 252 pounds, and has a heavy build. He has brown/black hair with a balding hairline, and brown eyes.

Harjot Singh Samra wanted Canada wide

Collision between fuel truck and train in northern Alberta

Emergency crews are at the scene of a collision between a fuel truck and a train in northern Alberta. RCMP say its officers received a report of the collision on Highway 43, near the junction of Highway 32, in Whitecourt, which is located about 180 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

Collision between fuel truck and train in northern Alberta

Feds to provide wildfire update

Officials have already said Canada is experiencing its worst fire season on record, charring more than 130,000 square kilometres to date, which is more than six times the 10-year average. Natural Resources Canada said last week there were more than 650 fires burning across Canada, about two-thirds of them in B.C.

Feds to provide wildfire update

Concrete actions must accompany diverse cabinet: Canada Research Chair

An academic expert on inclusive politics says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's move last month to introduce more diversity into his cabinet won't have much effect unless it goes beyond surface-level representation. Trudeau added seven new faces to his governing team in July including the first Filipina Canadian woman MP and the first Sri Lankan Tamil to serve in cabinet.