The stories that emerge from covering court are inherently compelling.
Real life drama unfolds every day within the walls of a courtroom, with stakes that can forever alter the course of someone's life.
When an accused person walks into a courthouse, they are walking a path where their future is in the hands of attorneys, a judge and in some instances a jury of their peers.
Courtroom dockets pages long are a daily occurrence, as dozens, if not hundreds of people make their way through the justice system.
Each case is unique, in many cases the family and friends of the accused and the victims line the benches of an emotion-filled courtroom as they await a verdict.
For a community news organization, covering every single story that passes through the court system is a near impossible task and it falls on the editorial team to exercise their news judgement in deciding what cases are of the highest interest to the public.
There was no shortage of court cases in 2019 that captured the attention of Greater Sudbury, and we have highlighted a few of them in our year in review.
Robert Steven Wright:
The man accused in the 1998 murder of Renée Sweeney was arrested late in 2018, but the lion's share of his court proceedings were throughout the course of 2019. Wright was arrested and originally charged with first degree murder on Dec. 11, 2018 in connection with the 20-year-old Sweeney homicide case.
Wright sat at the front of a packed Sudbury courtroom during a three-dail bail hearing last February, his family members seated behind defence attorneys Berk Keaney and Michael Venturi, while many of Sweeney's family members sat behind Crown attorneys Jody Ostapiw and Robert Parsons.
Security was beefed up during the three-day hearing, with those attending required to pass through a police checkpoint at the entrance to the courtroom. The proceedings were emotional and sobs could be heard at times from both sides of the courtroom.
Wright remained mostly stoic throughout, wearing a blank expression and staring at the floor for much of the time.
On March 27, Wright again stared silently at the floor as Ontario Superior Court Justice Edward E. Gareau took about an hour to read his decision, most of which cannot be made public because of a publication ban on evidence ahead of a possible murder trial.
Gareau ultimately ruled that the Crown had met the conditions required to deny Wright bail, and he expressed concerns about the adequacy of monitoring devices and the ability of his surety to keep a close enough eye on him should he be released.
Wright's friends and family gathered in the courtroom were upset when the decision was announced, with one woman sobbing and trying to get his attention as he was led out by police.
Wright made a brief court appearance on Aug. 27, 11 days after the Crown Attorney's office was successful in its effort to authorize a direct indictment against Wright for second degree murder in the killing of Renée Sweeney.
The Ministry of the Attorney General allowed the direct indictment against Wright, meaning there will be no preliminary hearing — originally scheduled for November — and the case will go directly to trial.
A trial date has not yet been set.
Alexander Stavropoulos:
A man charged in a pair of incidents over the past two years is facing attempted murder charges in connection to an incident that occured in a Marcus Drive parking lot in early June.
Alexander Stavropoulos is charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and one count of breaching probation in connection to the June 3 incident, where he allegedly stabbed a 35-year-old mother in the neck. Her nine-month-old infant was not stabbed, but sustained multiple bruises after being struck repeatedly during the attack.
If the name Alexander Stavropoulos sounds familiar, it is because the man was involved in another incident that occurred in April 2018 at the city's downtown transit terminal.
Stavropoulos was sentenced in August 2018 to time served (99 days in jail) plus two years probation for the April 1 incident, and was ordered to pay $215 in restitution to a Sudbury Transit employee. The worker was injured when police fired five or six shots to stop Stavropoulos, who came at them wielding a knife and ignored orders to stop.
Stavropoulos pled guilty to one charge of carrying a weapon (a knife) to commit an offence.
The now 26-year-old Stavropoulos was in court Dec. 17 when he was expected to plead guilty to two charges of attempted murder and one charge of violating parole stemming from the April 1 incident, but the matter was delayed until Jan. 13, according to Crown attorney Leonard Kim, on account of the agreed statement of facts which details what exactly Stavropoulos is admitting.
He returns to court Jan. 13 to deal with his latest charges at 10 a.m. in Courtroom B. The Crown is also seeking to have him declared a dangerous offender.
Other cases we followed in 2019:
Callam Rodya:
Former CTV reporter Callam Rodya, who also worked for Sudbury.com for almost a year, was arrested and charged on Feb. 13 with three counts each of possession of child pornography, accessing child pornography, making available child pornography and one count of possession of a Schedule 1 controlled substance.
Rodya was released on $1,500 bail on Feb. 14 under the supervision of his mother-in-law, with a strict set of conditions attached to his release. He is prohibited from attending any public area where children under the age of 18 might be present, such as playgrounds, beaches, high school or daycare centre.
He cannot be in the company of any child under 18 years of age unless under the direct supervision of an adult or guardian of youth or child. He is not to possess or consume any unlawful drugs or substances. He is prohibited from possessing or using any computer device, including smartphones, laptops or desktop computers or video game systems capable of accessing the internet, unless it's at work and for work purposes.
Rodya's former employer, CTV, announced on Feb. 14 that he had been suspended from his job.
Multiple court dates and adjournments followed over the course of the year, with Rodya not appearing in the public eye at any of his scheduled appearances, but rather his lawyer Jacob Gathier appearing on his behalf. On Oct. 16, a sentencing date was set for Rodya, indicating that he will not be going to trial, but entering a plea.
Details about a guilty plea have not been provided.
Rodya's sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 7 at 2 p.m. in Courtroom B.
David Murray:
The embattled Sudbury contractor was faced with significant backlash by a number of his clients over unfinished jobs during a protest in March of this year.
On April 23, Murray was charged with theft and trafficking of stolen property in relation to an incident with a former employee of his. This matter has been scheduled for trial on May 12, 2020.
Murray was charged with 20 counts of fraud over $5,000 and three counts of fraud under $5,000 on May 30, 2019 and was charged again on Nov. 5 with another 22 counts of fraud - 14 counts of fraud over $5,000 and eight counts of fraud under $5,000, bringing the total number of fraud charges against him to 45.
In between the two sets of charges, Murray appealed the decision of the city of Greater Sudbury to revoke his business license, an appeal that he lost as the city's hearing committee upheld the decision on Aug. 14. The contractor also attempted to start another company under the name Maple Ridge Property Management.
While Murray and his wife obtained a name and a corporation number for Maple Ridge, no company is allowed to do business in Greater Sudbury without a business license issued by the city. In a combative interview with Sudbury.com in Auguest, Murray maintained his intention is to work through the Maple Ridge company to complete jobs for his EcoLife customers, not to take on new contracts.
Murray's fraud matters were a long and drawn out process as he filed for and eventually obtained a legal aid certificate after multiple court appearances and adjournments. Both sets of Murray's fraud matters were combined on Dec. 11 and a judicial pre-trial has been scheduled for Jan. 7.
