Bail system in the spotlight amid arrests of repeat offenders in Vancouver

At least three high-profile incidents this week have led to questions about how B.C.'s court system handles alleged violent offenders, but a local criminal lawyer says the burden is not solely on the legal system.

On Monday, a woman was followed into the lobby of her Yaletown apartment building and violently assaulted by a stranger. Bystanders intervened and held the man until police arrived. Bryce Michael Flores-Bebington was charged with assault and uttering threats, and then released from custody.

Thursday, Mohammed Majidpour was jailed for allegedly attacking a 19-year-old female student with a pole in downtown Vancouver on Sept. 27. He also is alleged to have shouted racial slurs. In 2021, Majidpour was charged with harassing Jamie Coutts after she posted a video of herself being followed. Court documents also show Majidpour had violated his probation several times.

And Friday, Vancouver police warned a province-wide warrant had been issued for Kenneth Stephen Solowan, saying he disappeared "immediately" after being granted bail. Solowan is accused of slashing two people with a machete on June 19, including Casey Janulis, who told CTV News she had been living in fear since his release on bail.

For some, the incidents raise questions about how the courts reach decisions on bail.

“I understand people’s frustration with what they believe is an unfair bail system,” said Sarah Leamon, a criminal lawyer in Vancouver and founder of Sarah Leamon Law Group.

She argues that while the system may appear lenient, it’s federally regulated and is not "one size fits all."

“It’s important to keep in mind that the bail system is a very personal system,” she said. “The court has a lot of things that they consider in deciding whether or not they should be granting bail and on what conditions, so it’s not as though it's applied uniformly to all people.”

Leamon also argues that despite public outcry, courts cannot default to locking an accused person up and "throwing away the key."

“The right to be presumed innocent is a right that’s protected under the Charter and it's also a cornerstone of our judicial system and of our society,” she said.

According to an expert report commissioned by the provincial government, in Vancouver “stranger attacks in 2020-21 increased by 35 per cent compared to 2019, coinciding with the pandemic."

The report also stated that most suspects "had been apprehended previously under the Mental Health Act and most had been named as suspects or charged in previous violent crime incidents.”

On the issue of bail, the report quoted a probation officer as saying: “We are seeing people be released into community on bail that definitely pose a significant public safety risk.”

The report authors also noted the complexity of poverty, mental health issues and substance use, which they said should be dealt with separately from criminal issues.

That's a sentiment echoed by Leamon.

“There's a housing crisis, we have a toxic drug supply, we have an opioid crisis,” she said, while also noting the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and a health-care crisis.

“I think that all of these things are coming together and creating the perfect storm.”