Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day on this Thursday morning
No accident: Laurentian 'strategically planned' for its insolvency, auditor general says in scathing report
In a scathing report, Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk said she believes the data shows Laurentian University did not have to file for creditor protection under the Companies Creditors’ Arrangement Act (CCAA).
This action was “strategically planned” and Laurentian “chose to take steps to file for creditor protection in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on February 1, 2021.”
“In our view, there were many people hired by Laurentian who were more focused on laying the track that guided the train toward the CCAA process, and less on working co-operatively and with full transparency with the Ministry of Colleges and Universities and faculty and staff labour unions,” Lysyk said.
You can read more of this story by clicking here.
Police arrest alleged knife-wielding fake cop
A 50-year-old man has been arrested for impersonating a police officer in several incidents, said Greater Sudbury Police.
GSPS spokesperson Kaitlyn Dunn said in a news release today that a number of residents told police in recent weeks they were stopped by a man driving a replica police vehicle with flashing lights activated. The most recent incident reported to media occurred on April 8 when a woman was pulled over on Highway 17 by a vehicle that seemed to be a police cruiser.
On April 12, Greater Sudbury Police executed a search warrant at a home on Dave Street after identifying the man they believe is responsible.
Officers located and seized two Dodge Charger vehicles believed to be used in the commission of the offences.
Robert Restiaux was arrested and charged with two counts of impersonating a peace officer. He appeared in bail court on April 13 to answer to the charges.
You can read the full story here.
Reward being offered for info on whereabouts of suspected Walmart shooter
Crime Stoppers and the Greater Sudbury Police Service are seeking the public’s assistance in locating Kaden Graham.
Graham, 20, is the person believed to be responsible for the shooting at Walmart on March 31 that left one person with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police are seeking information on Graham’s whereabouts.
“(Graham) is not to be approached as he is considered armed and dangerous,” said police in a news release.
You can read more about this story here.
Convicted sexual assaulters arrested after breaching release conditions
While out on bail to appeal their sexual assault convictions and sentencing, David Case and Celine Loyer were arrested April 11 for breaching conditions of that release.
Greater Sudbury Police said Case and Loyer were arrested April 11 and charged for failing to comply with their release order in relation to an incident that occurred on March 23 that put them both in breach of their conditions.
Case and Loyer were convicted in March 2020 for their roles in sexually assaulting an unconscious 19-year-old woman at Case's Sudbury home in 2011. Loyer was convicted of sexual assault, while Case was convicted of sexual assault by aiding and abetting.
They were both sentenced to 16 months in jail in February 2021, but were both granted bail, sparing them from jail as they appealed both the conviction and sentencing.
You can read the full story here.
Vagnini’s removal from the police board no conspiracy, says Cormier
Fighting for his colleague’s reputation, Ward 3 Coun. Gerry Montpellier urged city council to launch an investigation into the allegations made against Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini.
At issue is a Feb. 8 vote of city council to remove Vagnini from the Greater Sudbury Police Service Board, which passed by a vote of 9-2 and which Montpellier deems unjust. In response, Montpellier presented a motion during tonight’s meeting to direct staff to “initiate a third-party investigation of the allegations” that resulted in the vote.
Led by an impassioned speech by Ward 10 Coun. Fern Cormier, city council shot down the motion tonight with a decisive vote of 8-2.
“There’s no need to have some big conspiracy to make that kind of decision,” Cormier said. “It’s much more clear-cut than some would have us believe.”
You can read more by clicking here.
Video: At-capacity, Greater Sudbury Animal Shelter sees a decrease in adoptions
The Greater Sudbury Animal Shelter has been seeing a significant decrease in adoptions especially in the last two months and is at capacity.
“So we’ve had consistently the same amount of intake (of pets),” Melissa Laalo, the bylaw department co-ordinator said. “But we’ve noticed in the last, probably two years, but significantly in the last two months, that adoptions have decreased.”
The animal shelter mostly takes in strays and surrendered pets. Laalo told Sudbury.com that the animals at the shelter are 90-per-cent strays and 10-per-cent pets who have been surrendered by their owners.
See the full story and video here.
Robert Steven Wright’s murder trial rescheduled to February 2023
Following pretrial motions on Monday, trial dates for the man accused of murdering Renée Sweeney have been rescheduled for February 2023.
Robert Steven Wright was scheduled to go to trial in September this year. His counsel, Micheal Lacy, told Sudbury.com in an email the reason for the delay.
“I can confirm the trial had to be adjourned in order to accommodate my schedule,” Lacy said in an email.
Lacy said when September was originally targeted to start Wright’s trial, it was done so with knowledge that Lacy had a lengthy matter scheduled in another jurisdiction.
“There was some hope that the other matter might not go ahead, but, unfortunately, as of Monday it is still scheduled,” said Lacy. “Accordingly, we had to adjourn the Wright matter.”
The matter will return April 25 to confirm dates.
Read the full story here.
A risk of snow in the forecast for Thursday night
Overnight periods of rain will end near noon, but not before bringing 5 mm of rain with them. The day turns cloudy in the afternoon with fog patches present but dissipating in the morning with a daytime high of 11 degrees. The wind will be coming southwest 30 km/h gusting to 50 km/h with temperatures falling to plus 4 in the afternoon. The UV index will be 2 or low.
In the evening, a risk of snow, with temperatures falling to minus 1.
For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at sudbury.com/weather.
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