Convicted cop killer denied bail

BY LAUREL MYERS

Jeremy Trodd, 24, the man who was convicted of killing Greater Sudbury Police Sgt. Rick McDonald, returned to Sudbury court Monday for a bail hearing on new charges.

In November, Trodd was arrested in Sudbury on charges of carrying a concealed weapon, three counts of breach of recognizance and five counts of breach of a peace bond. On Christmas Eve day, he was denied bail once again.

The Justice of the Peace explained bail was being denied on the secondary grounds – the protection of the general public. He took into account the accused’s lengthy record and the fact he had been considered a dangerous offender in the past, as well as his inability to comply with the conditions set out in his bail.

“There’s a reason why conditions are attached to an accused and there is a reason for stringent conditions,” the justice said. “The fact Mr. Trodd was found with a weapon is aggravating in this court’s view.”

The fact he failed to follow the conditions of his bail factored into assistant Crown attorney Len Walker’s argument as well.

“Mr. Trodd is a young man who’s had a terrible past and committed some very serious offences,” he said. “He was already on a significant bail in the amount of $10,000 with one surety. He just failed to follow the conditions. He ended up in Sudbury being arrested with a known criminal. He was caught in a hotel drinking and giving a false name to police.”

On July 29, 1999, Trodd led police on a high-speed chase through the city’s South End in a stolen van.

Moments after laying a spike belt to stop the vehicle, McDonald was struck by the van when Trodd swerved to miss the belt, lost control of the van and hit a post.

The young man’s cousin, Peter Noganosh, 17, was a passenger in the van and was also killed in the crash.

Only 16 at the time of the incident, Trodd was sentenced to six years and one month in prison. He applied for bail three times before his sentence was up, but was denied each time.

Though he was released from jail in May, Trodd was red-flagged by the National Parole Board as a high risk to re-offend. He hasn’t stayed off the police radar since.

Two months after his release, Trodd was back in the spotlight in another stolen vehicle, but this time, he wasn’t at the wheel.

On July 12, on Highway 11, Huntsville OPP observed a pickup truck travelling at a high rate of speed. Officers stopped the vehicle and found that it had been reported as stolen from Sudbury.

The suspects then fled from the officers but lost control of the truck shortly afterwards. Trodd, along with two others, was charged with possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, causing a disturbance and breach of recognizance. He still has an outstanding warrant in Parry Sound.

Trodd’s mother, Nancy Noganosh – who acted as her son’s surety on his last release from jail – took the stand Monday to prove herself a suitable surety once again.

The mother broke down a number of times throughout the hearing, specifically when she recalled having to put her son in jail for a weekend while she went to Manitoba for a funeral, due to bail conditions that kept Trodd from leaving the province.

“I think it’s a shame a mother has to put her son in jail just to attend a funeral,” she said. “I know we have very little chance of having Jeremy come home today, but I have to try... we have a family.”

When Trodd took the stand, he told the judge he has spent his entire adult life in prison so far and had never known another world.

“I don’t even have a social insurance number,” he said. “To find out I was going back to jail was a hard thing to take in after getting a taste of freedom.

“Every one step I took forward, I got knocked back two.”

Trodd is scheduled to return to Sudbury court Jan. 2 to set a date for his trial.