Witness identification will be central to the trial of a man accused of stealing about $3,100 from a local credit union.
Dustin Aaron Clark, 36, who served time for jumping out of the prisoner’s box of a Red Deer courtroom, fleeing the courtroom and attempting to escape the courthouse in February, was frustrated at having to wear handcuffs for the duration of the first day of his trial on Tuesday.
He held his hands up showing the court the handcuffs, saying he was being “paraded around like Hannibal Lecter.”
Clark faces armed robbery charges in relation to the Sept. 13, 2012, robbery of the northside Servus Credit Union in Taylor Plaza. The four-day trial in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench is before Justice Denny Thomas.
Crown Prosecutor Jillian Brown said the occurrence of the robbery is not at issue for this trial, but instead it is a matter of witness identification and if a firearm was used in the robbery.
Six Crown witnesses were called Tuesday, all members of the Red Deer RCMP. They established how they came to suspect Clark in the investigation and how using photo packs — a series of 10 head shots — were used to identify the suspect.
Const. Erin Clowery said he had met Clark prior to the September investigation into the bank robbery about a month prior when Clark was accused of shoplifting at Bower Mall.
Clowery found no evidence or any allegedly stolen items on Clark and did not charge him, instead transporting him downtown.
During the car ride Clowery said Clark told him his nickname was ‘Lips,’ (due to a distinguishing feature) and he had done time previously for armed robbery in British Columbia.
During the investigations into both the Servus Credit Union robbery and a separate robbery of a TD Bank branch in Red Deer, witnesses had identified the suspect as going by the nickname ‘Lips.’ Const.
Dale Kentz testified that the media release which included a picture of the suspect from the Servus security cameras led to people telling the police the suspect was known as Lips. Clowery made the connection to Clark, who was already in cells on a separate matter.
Several witnesses were asked to look at a photo pack, which was developed by Const. Heather Manning. She said the other faces she chose to include where done so because of similar features, including lips and hair-style as well as gender, age and skin tone.
During his cross-examinations, defence counsel Andrew Phypers focused his questions by asking Manning and Kentz about how the photo pack was developed and if steps were taken to ensure the other people in the pack, which was designed to present similar looking faces, had been cleared of the crime.
Kentz said they had not, but at no time were any of the other people in the photo packs considered suspects in the investigation.
The trial resumes today.
mcrawford@www.reddeeradvocate.com