Regent Park Murder, Army Reservists convicted in homeless man's death

[bossi]

Sep. 8, 2005. 06:38 AM
Death follows soldiers' party
Reservists celebrated after returning from combat exercise

Homeless man later fatally beaten in park near armoury

JOHN GODDARD
STAFF REPORTER

The three reserve soldiers charged in the beating death of a downtown homeless man had just returned from 10 days of simulated war combat, an army spokesman said yesterday.

The exercises, named "Stalwart Guardian" and involving 3,000 reservists from across the country, took place Aug. 19-28 at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa northwest of Ottawa, said Maj. Tim Lourie, spokesman for the Toronto armed reserves.

Participating reservists from the Queen's Own Rifles, attached to the downtown Moss Park Armoury, celebrated the end of the war games two days later, on Tuesday last week, with a number of German exchange soldiers.

The army-sanctioned party took place not at the armoury, at Jarvis and Queen Sts., as reported earlier, but at the Bier Markt bar on The Esplanade. The party broke up about 10:30 p.m. and "different groups went in different directions," Lourie said.

About six hours later, Paul Croutch, a 59-year-old homeless man, was fatally beaten in his sleeping bag on the park grounds of the John Innes Community Centre, next to the armoury. A woman who witnessed the beating was also attacked.

Charged with second-degree murder and assault causing bodily harm are Queen's Own Rifles reserve soldiers Brian Deganis, 21, Jeffery Hall, 21, and Mountaz Ibrahim, 23.

Deganis and Ibrahim are to make their first court appearance this morning.

A rally and memorial for Croutch is scheduled for 11 a.m. today in Moss Park, at Queen and Sherbourne Sts., near where he died, as the slaying begins to galvanize poverty activists.

The armoury, a formidable piece of '60s architecture with three pieces of artillery on its front lawn, occupies a patch of one of the city's most blighted neighbourhoods. It is surrounded by missions, homeless shelters, drop-in centres and subsidized highrise residences.

The Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, an anti-poverty group which is organizing the rally, says the armoury is underutilized and should be torn down in favour of public housing.

"Close down Moss Park Armoury, build affordable housing instead," read one rally placard being prepared yesterday at the All Saints Church drop-in centre at Sherbourne and Dundas Sts.

"We've been calling for the government to turn the (armoury) building into affordable housing for years," relief committee member Danielle Koyama said while helping with the signs. "The need for housing is much greater than the need for them to do floor exercises."

The outcry comes at a time of major expansion for reserve branches of the Canadian Forces as the country increases its overseas peacekeeping commitments in such places as Afghanistan, Bosnia and Sudan.

The Moss Park Armoury is a "busy facility," home to 600 reservists and more than 100 cadets, Lourie said. During the day, planners and support staff use it for offices. Every night and on most weekends, four separate reserve units use it for training.

The average reserve soldier trains one night a week and one weekend a month.

Of Canadian troops being deployed overseas, up to 25 per cent are drawn from reservists, Lourie said.

Reservists also make up a significant portion of the domestic emergency response force, he said. In 1998, 600 army reservists from Toronto responded to the ice storm in eastern Ontario, 200 of them from the Moss Park Armoury. The city's two other armouries are at Fort York and Downsview.

Paul Croutch was a "sweet, sweet man, a sweetie," said Wendy Babcock, an outreach worker with the Street Health agency who is to speak at today's rally.

Croutch had a history of psychiatric problems. He didn't like drama, arguments or fights, Babcock said, and for that reason preferred to sleep in parks rather than at shelters.

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[bossi]

Troops' party preceded man's killing in Moss Park
Police defend rare delay in announcing that Paul Croutch had been beaten to death
By UNNATI GANDHI

Thursday, September 8, 2005
Updated at 7:09 PM EDT

About 50 people from the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada went out for dinner and drinks at a downtown bar on Tuesday night last week, hours before police discovered a badly beaten, unconscious homeless man near the regiment's home at Moss Park Armoury.

The reservists were playing host to a send-off for visiting troops from Germany and Britain, Major Tim Lourie said on behalf of the Queen's Own Rifles. Now three of the regiment's members face second-degree murder and assault charges.

"It was at a local establishment down on The Esplanade. About 50 or so members of the unit, as well as the German soldiers, went there for dinner and socializing," he said.

The Bier Markt on The Esplanade confirmed a dinner reservation for 50 people from the Canadian Armed Forces last Tuesday. The party ended at about 11 o'clock, the employee said.

"The various different groups went [in] a number of different directions. In this case, the German troops, as well as some British troops that were being hosted by 7 Toronto Regiment, were staying at the Armoury, so they would have gone back.

"But the soldiers from the Queen's Own or any of the other units wouldn't have normally gone back to the unit to stay there, they would have gone home," Major Lourie said.

He could not confirm that the three accused attended the send-off party.

At about 4:40 a.m. Wednesday, police discovered the badly bruised body of Paul Croutch, 59, in nearby Moss Park.

He was suffering what the coroner called "blunt-impact head trauma . . . consistent with being punched, kicked or stomped."

Mr. Croutch was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead that morning.

On Friday night, Toronto Police and the National Investigation Services of the Canadian Armed Forces arrested three reserve members of the Moss Park Armoury.

Questions quickly arose about why a homicide on the streets of Toronto was not made public until early Saturday morning, nearly four days after the incident.

Detective Wayne Fowler, the lead homicide investigator on the case, said police released information after the three arrests.

"As soon as the arrests were made, the press release went out. . . . Because this investigation was not in the media at the time -- the bad guys didn't know the police were investigating this murder."

Mark Pugash, communications director for Toronto Police Services, said holding back news of a homicide on Toronto streets is very rare, but it is unavoidable in cases like this.

"There might be cases where investigators might be keeping an eye on someone and, in their view, that if this were to be publicized widely, it might compromise their ability to obtain the evidence they need."

Mr. Pugash said the military involvement had nothing to do with the postponed announcement.

"The considerations that govern what we do are public safety, the integrity of the investigation. The fact that there might be some other institution involved is not a factor that would be taken into account."

Captain Mark Giles, spokesman for the National Investigation Services of the Canadian Forces, said he is concerned about the severity of the incident.

"Any time you have, as we do here, three of our soldiers who are alleged to have been involved in such a serious situation, it's obviously not good news for us."

Major Lourie said the arrests have taken a toll on those who are part of the reserves.

"These people work very, very hard. They're dedicated Canadians and to see this sort of thing happen and to be linked with it as being part of this organization, people are having a difficult time coming to grips with it," he said.

"This is one of our top units we have in the Brigade, and some might say in Canada. The Queen's Own Rifles have a long and drawn out prestigious history of supporting Canada."

The Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, which has called on the Attorney-General of Ontario to prosecute the beating death of Mr. Croutch as a hate crime, was scheduled to gather with the homeless, front-line workers and community partners this morning at the site of the killing at Queen Street East and Jarvis Street.

Jeffery Hall, 21, Mountaz Ibrahim, 23, and Brian Deganis, 21, are scheduled to appear for a remand hearing in court today at College Park.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050908/CROUTCH08/TPNational/Toronto

 

[bossi]

Poverty Activists Hold Rally in Memory of Murdered Homeless Man
Sep, 08 2005 - 6:00 AM


TORONTO - Two of the three reserve soldiers charged in the beating death of a homeless Toronto man will make their first court appearance today. As they prepare for their court date, the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee is planning a rally in honour of the victim.
The rally will be held at Moss Park at Queen and Sherbourne, starting at 11 a-m. 59-year-old Paul Croutch was in that park last week, when he was beaten to death in his sleeping bag. A woman who witnessed the murder was also attacked.

The three young men accused of second degree murder in the case are reserve soldiers attached to an armoury adjacent to the park. For years now, the Disaster Relief Committee has been asking the government to tear down Moss Park Armoury and use the land for public housing.

- AM 640 Toronto 24 Hour Newscentre

http://www.640toronto.com/news/metro.cfm?cat=7428109912&rem=17668&red=80110923aPBIny&wids=410&gi=1&gm=metro.cfm

Homeless Memorial
Sep, 08 2005 - 3:00 PM

TORONTO/640TORONTO - Poverty groups are calling on the federal government to turn a downtown Toronto military training facility into a refuge for the homeless.
About one-hundred anti-poverty activists held a memorial at the Moss Park Armoury today to honor a 59-year old homeless man who was beaten to death last Wednesday. John Croutch was viciously attacked while he lay in a sleeping bag outside the facility. Three reserve soldiers are charged in the murder.

Activists want the government to shut down the armoury and restore it to its original purpose - a shelter for those in need.

- 640 Toronto 24 hour newscentre 

http://www.640toronto.com/news/metro.cfm?cat=7428109912&rem=17725&red=80110923aPBIny&wids=410&gi=1&gm=metro.cfm

 

[bossi]

CITY-TV, Toronto - link at bottom shows poster, video clip:

Homeless Homicide 

They had just returned from 10 days of simulated war combat, learning how to survive and eliminate enemies on the battlefield.

But the man they're accused of killing wasn't armed, he didn't pose a threat to national security, and by all accounts, he did whatever it took to avoid confrontation, even if it meant sleeping outside.

Three reserve soldiers charged in the beating death of a downtown homeless man, 59-year-old Paul Croutch, were in court on Thursday.

Brian Deganis, 21, Jeffery Hall, 21, and Mountaz Ibrahim, 23, have been charged with second-degree murder and assault causing bodily harm.

They're accused of kicking and stomping on the reclusive man as he slept on a bench near the Moss Park Armoury.

On Thursday, approximately 80 protestors gathered near the site of his death to voice their rage, sadness and fear.

"We will not have people just brutally beaten in our parks and across this city!" shouted Beric German of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee.

Some housing advocates are calling the crime more than just scary.

"It's critically important it be designated as a hate crime in order to send a very clear message that the homeless people who are on our streets, in our parks, that they're not targets for random acts of violence," stresses housing advocate Michael Shapcott.

Croutch's ex-wife in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, says her estranged husband had a great sense of humour before he started battling mental illness that left him paranoid and depressed.

"And then the darkness just started taking over," she said.

Advocates don't want Croutch's death to be in vain. They're hoping the Moss Park Armoury will be converted into housing for the homeless.

September 8, 2005

http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20050908-013/page.asp

 

[Mike Bobbitt]

PUBLICATION: The Toronto Sun
DATE: 2005.09.09
PAGE: 10
SOURCE: BY MIKE STROBEL

PROPHET OF HIS DOOM PARANOID HOMELESS MAN SLAIN


PAUL CROUTCH'S usual bench is down the first base line at Moss Park.

Last Monday, as always, he sat there to watch homeless-league softball.

The Sally Ann's Hand Of God team beat another shelter by three runs in a stunning two-out comeback.

Two days later, Croutch, 59, was murdered on that bench, beaten to a pulp in his sleeping bag.

Homeless Man Beaten To Death. Not exactly Hiroshima, as they say in the newspaper game. Rewrite, gimme four graphs.

How about EX-NEWSPAPERMAN BEATEN TO DEATH? Now, you're sitting up.

Which brings us back to that bench, as yesterday's grey morning clears out and the microphone heats up.

Paul Croutch would have hated this demo in his name.

Too damn many people. More than 100, milling in the shadows of those 105-mm guns outside Moss Park Armoury.

Street people. Street workers. Street pests, "advocates" who live comfy lives and never met a megaphone they didn't like. A couple dozen coppers keep them all from the armoury.

HATE CRIME, people scream. SCREW THE ARMY. F--- THE COPS.

Nuts. The army reserve isn't charged with murder. Just three reservists. And the cops sure didn't beat poor, quiet, gentle, paranoid Croutch.

Prosecute this under hate crime law? Why? Murder is murder. The "hate" is sort of automatic. Save hate law for when it makes a difference.

I bet Croutch would have had something to say.

"He loved to talk politics," Wendy Babcock, 26, tells me. She's an ex-call girl who now does good work among the homeless.

She met Croutch two, three times a week. Called him Low Talker, he was so quiet, after the character on Seinfeld.

"It took me a lot of cigars and coffees to get him to start talking to me."

He was well-read, gentlemanly. Always spread out a newspaper where she could sit.

Newspapers were in his blood. Brilliant, they say.

Worked at the daily in Dawson Creek, B.C. Started a weekly there, the Mirror.

'Til the government and the Mounties stole it from him.

"Paul was kind and articulate, but he had a lot of fears," Gateway shelter director Dion Oxford, 35, tells me. "Sometimes he thought we were selling his brain waves to Interpol.

"He felt like he knew things that had people coming for him."

So, though he slept on that bench and panhandled at Queen and Yonge, he felt safest in a traffic island at Jarvis and Richmond, among the ornamental grasses, begonias and canna lilies.

There, he sheltered on the round stone bench. Read all the papers. Searched the traffic for signs of Interpol.

Jesse-George Blank, 46, usually stopped to chat after feeding pigeons and sipping sherry near St. James.

Says Blank: "He wasn't one of those guys, you know, just looking for booze. He was an intellectual."

And, who knows? Maybe prescient, too.

"See you Thursday," Wendy Babcock told him on Monday.

"Naw," said Croutch. "I'll be dead by then."

He often said things like that.

But sometimes paranoia is spot on.

Croutch was murdered just after disability cheque day, so he had 300 bucks in his pocket.

Once a week, he left the island, or the Moss Park bench, for the George Street Diner. Always the same: Breakfast Special #2 -- eggs, home fries, bacon, toast, pancakes.

Plus, always, two bacon sandwiches to go.

Owner Peter Guzzo, 37, says he was a good tipper and paid in advance. "In case I don't make it back."

The paranoia talking.

"Problems with him? No, just the opposite.

"The murder? Some things just don't make sense."

"He was one of us," says Dion Oxford. "A human being, and he deserved, deserves, to be treated like one."

PUBLICATION: The Toronto Sun
DATE: 2005.09.09
SOURCE: BY BRODIE FENLON, TORONTO SUN

'OUTRAGE' OVER DEATH 3 SOLDIERS HELD IN JAIL AS WIDOW SPEAKS OUT 

THREE ARMY reservists charged in the beating death of a Toronto homeless man made a brief court appearance yesterday while the victim's ex-wife expressed outrage at the senseless killing.

Jeffery Hall and Brian Deganis, both 21, and Mountaz Ibrahim, 23, all from Toronto and reservists with the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada were remanded in custody.

They are each charged with second-degree murder in the beating death of Paul Richard Croutch, 59, who died of head trauma Aug. 31 in Moss Park, at Shuter and Sherbourne Sts.

The part-time soldiers are also charged with assault causing bodily harm in connection with an attack on a homeless woman who witnessed the beating.

Marilyn Howard, 61, of Dawson Creek, B.C., who was married to Croutch for 25 years before they divorced in 1984 and had not spoken to him for several years, was still listed as his next of kin.

MENTAL ILLNESS

She made the decision to take the former newspaper publisher off life support after he was found by police in a coma and still inside the sleeping bag in which he was attacked. Croutch was found with $300 still in his pocket.

"I'm outraged. I'm not a grieving widow," she said. "But I'm outraged that a person in a sleeping bag is -- and I'll quote the coroner -- punched, kicked and stomped to be unrecognizable."

Howard described Croutch as a brilliant man with a life-long mental illness that he refused to get treated. The illness worsened with age and the founder of the Dawson Creek Mirror ended up living on the streets of Toronto in the late 1990s.

The couple had an adult daughter, who was also estranged from her father. She lives in the United States.

Howard, a retired director of a tourist welcome centre in Dawson Creek, said she hopes to fly to Toronto to attend Tuesday's memorial service for Croutch.

Clean-cut with short-cropped hair, the three accused showed little emotion at yesterday's hearing but for Ibrahim, who craned his neck and nodded to his mother, brother and sister at the back of the court.

They refused comment when approached by reporters afterward.

"The family was here and they're fully standing behind him," said Ibrahim's lawyer, Bytensky Boris, noting he likely will seek bail for his client.

Hall's family was also in court for the men's first appearance on the weekend after their arrest Friday, said his lawyer, Marcy Segal. She also expects to seek bail.

Deganis, whose lawyer was not in court yesterday, will appear again by video Wednesday. Ibrahim and Hall return by video appearance Thursday.

PUBLICATION: The Toronto Star
DATE: 2005.09.09
BYLINE: John Goddard
SOURCE: Toronto Star

Homeless man's death 'hate crime' protestor; Street people rally to protest charges in beating death Victim's ex-wife wants to meet attorney general


Street people and their supporters rallying outside Moss Park Armoury yesterday demanded that the beating death of a homeless man be prosecuted as a hate crime.

"We're angry today," said Michael Shapcott, research head of the anti-poverty Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, which organized the protest.

"Not angry enough to beat somebody to death, but we're here to demand justice ...," he told a crowd gathered mostly from nearby parks and drop-in centres. "We want it prosecuted as a hate crime so that homeless people do not remain targets (of bias)."

Paul Croutch was beaten in his sleeping bag in Moss Park next to the armoury last Wednesday and died hours later in hospital.

Charged with second-degree murder and assault causing bodily harm are three Toronto reserve soldiers from the Queen's Own Rifles, who train at the armoury Jeffrey Hall, 21, Mountaz Ibrahim, 23, and Brian Deganis, who turns 22 today. All three made a brief appearance yesterday in provincial court to set further court dates.

Outside the armoury at Queen and Jarvis Sts., relief committee official Beric German called for the building to be torn down and replaced with public housing, saying "this crime has sent chills through this whole community."

The 100 or so participants were mostly quiet during the hour-long event, watched by a row of 20 uniformed police officers. "We can't hold the whole (armoury) accountable," said one man, who described himself as homeless but declined to give his name. "I would want them on my side," he said of three uniformed reserve soldiers watching from the armoury doors, meaning he valued the country's military.

Several participants questioned privately why it took police until midnight Friday night of a long weekend to issue a news release of Croutch's death when he had died two days earlier. The same news release also told of the three arrests made Friday.

Police spokesperson Mark Pugash said in an interview "There were two considerations (for holding back news of the homicide) - public safety and the integrity of the investigation."

The Croutch case will continue to be in the public eye next week when his ex-wife of 25 years, Marilyn Howard of Dawson Creek, B.C., arrives in Toronto.

She wants to meet Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant on Tuesday, Shapcott said. Howard, who was divorced in 1993, also plans to attend a memorial service for Croutch Tuesday at the Church of the Holy Trinity.

On the hate crime issue , a spokesperson for Bryant said the attorney general would make no comment on how the case would be prosecuted.

University of Toronto criminology professor Mariana Valverde, who also addressed the protest, said that categorizing Croutch's death as a hate crime might not significantly affect any possible sentence, since murder is already punished severely.

But the move might help raise awareness of discrimination against not only homeless people but all "the visibly and publicly poor," she said.

At the moment, Valverde said, "the legal system doesn't recognize (homeless people) as an identifiable group for purposes of claiming discrimination."

Putting forward such a highly visible case as a hate crime might help set a precedent, she said. "It's time to take the (hate crime) issue to the legal system," Valverde told the crowd.

with files from dale anne freed

PUBLICATION: GLOBE AND MAIL
DATE: 2005.09.09
BYLINE: UNNATI GANDHI

Three reservists appear in court in beating death


UNNATI GANDHI Three reservists charged with the beating death of a Toronto homeless man appeared calm and looked at the floor as they stood during a brief court appearance yesterday.

Mountaz Ibrahim, 23, dressed in a track-suit jacket and T-shirt, made eye contact with his mother, sister and brother several times as he listened to Madam Justice Alice Napier reschedule court dates for him and his two Queen's Own Rifles of Canada colleagues.

Mr. Ibrahim, along with Jeffery Hall, 21, and Brian Deganis, 21, have been charged with second-degree murder and assault causing bodily harm in the death of Paul Croutch, 59.

Mr. Croutch was found badly beaten and unconscious on a bench in Moss Park in the early morning of Aug. 31. He died in hospital later that morning.

Mr. Ibrahim's lawyer, Boris Bytensky, said outside the court that he will likely be filing for a bail hearing for his client to the Superior Court of Justice soon. Mr. Hall's lawyer, Marcy Segal, said she'll be doing the same. Mr. Deganis's counsel was not present in court.

About a dozen people were sitting in the public benches in support of the three men. One man said outside the courtroom that he was there as a friend, but declined to give his name.

Mr. Deganis is scheduled to appear at the College Park court again on Sept. 14 at 9 a.m.; Mr. Ibrahim and Mr. Hall are scheduled to appear Sept. 15 at 9 a.m.

Two blocks from the court, about 100 people gathered to mourn Mr. Croutch's death.

Demonstrators are pushing Ontario Attorney-General Michael Bryant to proceed with the trial as a hate crime. Homeless people, along with members of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, spoke on behalf of Mr. Croutch in front of the bench where the man was beaten.

Flowers and a sign that read "Good Bye Paul" sat on it.

"Homeless people are the most vulnerable in our society. This has to stop. We can't let this happen again," said Michael Shapcott, research co-ordinator of the homeless advocacy group, the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee.

Wendy Babcock, an outreach worker with Toronto Street Health, knew Mr. Croutch for two years and said the former newspaper publisher only slept on the bench. During the day, he would be off reading newspapers in another park, because he didn't like being around crowds. He did love company, she added.

"He was grandfatherly. He looked older than he was because of the streets. He'd make sure you had a nice place to sit down, put his newspaper on the dirty ground for you. He'd always make sure you were comfortable. He didn't want to bombard you with problems, just like a grandfather," Ms. Babcock said.

"[He was] one of those people you look forward to seeing."

 

[bossi]

Sep. 12, 2005. 06:41 AM
Murder charges wound regiment
`Job is to protect most vulnerable'
Man found beaten next to armoury


JOHN GODDARD
STAFF REPORTER

The day after homeless man Paul Croutch was found fatally beaten next to the Moss Park Armoury, a second homeless man found himself lying near the same building in far different circumstances.

The man, who has not been publicly identified, apparently walked into a passing streetcar in front of the armoury at Queen and Jarvis Sts. and fell to the pavement with a gaping head wound.

A small crowd gathered, members of the military say. Three reserve soldiers from the Queen's Own Rifles spotted the commotion and went to the rescue.

"Everybody was standing around staring," Capt. Chris Abate, 21, recounted. "The man was bleeding and we administered first aid until the emergency services arrived."

The incident casts a different light on the armoury's relationship with its large neighbouring homeless population than the one suggested by Croutch's recent death, for which three Queen's Own Rifles reservists have been charged with second-degree murder.

Abate and others say they are devastated and shocked by the death and the idea that any member of the regiment might have been responsible.

"Speaking from the junior ranks level, it has affected us traumatically," Abate said in the armoury's upstairs officers' mess, surrounded by gilt-framed oil portraits of past regimental commanding officers.

"Two of the guys (accused of murder) were best friends of mine," he said. "One of them I grew up with, went to high school, junior high school and everything. ... He was the type of friend that no matter what you need, he would always help you out."

Lt.-Col. Martin Delaney, 48, said "everybody has lost sleep" over Croutch's death and the subsequent arrests.

"We understand that how we are received in the community is paramount and that our job is to protect society's most vulnerable," Delaney said. "There have been discussions on every level.... It's been a painful process."

The three reservists charged are: Brian Deganis, 22, Jeffrey Hall, 21, and Mountaz Ibrahim, 23. From Aug. 19 to 28, all three participated in war games involving 3,000 reserve troops from across the country at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, northwest of Ottawa.

Back in Toronto two nights later, Queen's Own Rifles participants celebrated at a local bar until 10:30 p.m., then went their separate ways. Six hours after that, Croutch was beaten in the park. He died the same morning in hospital.

"We have zero tolerance for that kind of behaviour," Delaney said, speaking of any criminal act by a soldier. "It's beyond the pale. We are reflecting on that very clearly and focusing on the future, including our upcoming task force to Afghanistan in 2006."

The possibility that Croutch's death could taint the reputation of the Queen's Own Rifles was clearly painful to four members of the regiment who agreed to be interviewed together at the officers' mess late last week.

The group included Capt. Rita Arendz, 45, the regiment's full-time director of music, and Sgt. Chris Thomson, 38, a full-time recruiting officer, sitting in leather chairs next to glass cases displaying the regimental silver.

Formed in 1860, the reserve regiment participated in every major conflict involving Canada from the 1885 Northwest Rebellion to the Korean War, and more recently has been contributing troops to Canadian Forces peacekeeping missions, including to the Kandahar area of Afghanistan next year.

A total of four reserve regiments train at the armoury, along with two cadet groups.

The Queen's Own Rifles number about 220 troops, with overall adult troop strength at about 600.

The irony is that the armoury's location in Moss Park area is as close to a war zone as most Canadians ever get â ” a neighbourhood of homeless people, alcoholics, crack users, prostitutes and other desperate types for whom violence at some level is a chronic threat.

When the armoury was built in 1966, with its giant indoor parade ground and officer training classrooms, the surrounding neighbourhood was still a working-class district and a potential recruiting ground.

Now reservists arrive from across the city â ” by expressway, GO train and city transit â ” to train one night a week, one weekend a month and six weeks every summer.

The kind of help the reservists gave to their bleeding neighbour at the streetcar is not uncommon, said Maj. Tim Lourie, a spokesman for all Toronto reserve regiments, who was also at last week's interview session. "The type of first aid and leadership training these people get go a long way toward helping society in general."

As early as 1982, poverty activists called on the armoury to open itself as an emergency winter homeless shelter, and last week anti-poverty activists protesting outside the building called for it to be torn down entirely.

Some individual protestors, however, said they support the armoury's presence in the neighbourhood and the Canadian Forces' presence in world peacekeeping.

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[Fishbone Jones]

From training exercises, to haircuts and attire, the Canadian military is ripe with tradition.

But according to one former soldier, that fact may have cost Paul Croutch his life.

On Tuesday, hundreds of mourners showed up for the funeral of Croutch, a homeless man who was allegedly beaten to death by three army reservists.

"John" who was with the Canadian military two decades ago, says there is a tradition of harassing the homeless in the downtown neighbourhood where Croutch was killed.

"Every Thursday when we'd finish our training for the day, there was a few guys, four to five guys, who would get together and go out, what they called rolling bums," he explains.

"It happened 18 years ago when I was in, and it's still happening," he alleges.

John claims four or five soliders would carry out the assault and that no one in his unit would openly speak about it, but everyone knew it was taking place.

"I think it's been a tradition there because there's so many homeless people around Moss Park Armoury...I'll guarantee you that every soldier in all the units there knows it goes on."

Major Tim Lourie isn't one of them.

"Never heard of anything of any tradition of doing that type of activity," he counters.

Cpl. Chris Abate concurs.

"No. I've never heard that whatsoever," adding that reservists have a good rapport with area residents, one that may have to be rebuilt after the beating death of Croutch.

"In this community we've always had a good relationship with the homeless communities and there's never been any type of harsh feelings between us."


http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20050913-016/page.asp

+++++++++++

CBCUlocked - 13 Sep 05

Friends remember murdered homeless man 'who touched the lives of many'
By Brenda Craig CBCUnlocked
Updated: Sep 13, 2005, 18:05
 



The many friends of Paul Croutch eulogized him at his funeral on Tuesday as an intelligent, kind and once successful newspaper editor from Dawson Creek, B.C., who was chased onto the streets by the demons of mental illness. 

For years Croutch, 59, had been living rough, often sleeping on the same bench, in an area around Toronto's Moss Park.  It was there, on that bench, that police say three army reservists from the Queen's Own Rifles beat Croutch to death last week.

Jeffery Hall, 21, Mountaz Ibrahim, 23, and Brian Deganis, 21, have been charged with second-degree murder and assault causing bodily harm. 

Many of the 200 mourners who gathered for Croutch's funeral at a Salvation Army shelter on Jarvis Street were, like Croutch, part of an invisible society of homeless people who move from hostel to hostel and somehow manage to stay alive living life on the margins. Also at the service were social workers and shelter staff who knew Croutch as a very ill, but harmless, man. 

Among the crowd was one friend that Paul Croutch didn't even know he had, Ontario's Lt.-Gov. James Bartleman.

"Mr. Croutch slept on a park bench, but he was a man with accomplishments in his life, and friends, and someone who touched the lives of many" Bartleman said.  "He was an individual, with a sense of dignity, whose life we have come to commemorate." 

A few years ago Bartleman was volunteering with the Salvation Army when he saw Croutch laying on a bench in a downtown park.  Croutch told the lieutenant-governor about the newspaper he used to run in northern British Columbia.  Bartleman says he remembers "a well spoken man, obviously a person who was well read and very likeable".

Bartleman has made improving the lives of the mentally ill one of his goals as lieutenant-govenor of Ontario.  He says that Croutch's murder means that all Canadians need to ask themselves, "Who and how society failed Paul Croutch."

The death of the homeless man has sparked anger and resentment among the homeless and homeless advocates.  The Toronto Disaster Relief Committee is demanding the province's attorney general treat the killing as a hate crime against the homeless, which could result in an even more serious penalty for the accused if they are convicted.

http://www.cbcunlocked.com/artman/publish/article_196.shtml

 

[bossi]

14 Sep 05 - CP24.com - video clip
http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20050914-016/page.asp

Soldiers Of Misfortune? 

They may deny it, but we've seen it with our own eyes.

That, in essence, is what those who work with the homeless are claiming, after a CityNews report on Tuesday in which Canadian soldiers who train near Moss Park Armoury denied harassing the homeless who hang around near their base.

The issue heated up again, after three reservists were arrested and charged with second degree murder in the brutal beating of Paul Croutch (top left). He was stomped to death and his body discovered near the Armoury in August.

Zoe Dodd is an outreach worker who routinely walks through the area checking on the disenfranchised. She insists she saw several soldiers harassing Croutch in the weeks before he was killed.

"They were using derogatory remarks," she claims. "They were calling everybody "crack heads" and I just remember them swearing. I just remember them insulting everybody."

Canadian Forces officials participated in the investigation that led to the soldiers' arrests but say until now, they had no indication there may have been a previous problem.

"If there's any cases like this where the homeless are being harassed, we would like anyone to come forward and let us know, or better yet, call the Toronto Police Services and let the police do their job," suggests Major Tim Lourie.

He vows every reported incident will be thoroughly investigated, regardless of the rank of those alleged to be involved. But he adds there's no evidence anything happened in this case.

September 14, 2005

 

[bossi]

CBCUnlocked - 14 Sep 05

The life and times of Paul Croutch: hating the homeless
By Brenda Craig, CBCUnlocked
Updated: Sep 14, 2005, 14:46

Home base: murdered 'homeless' man Paul Croutch's favourite bench. (Photo: Brenda Craig)


There's a spot in Toronto's lower Cabbagetown with a million-dollar view of the city that came vacant recently, but a willing tenant won't be moving in any time soon.

It's a park bench in Moss Park, where Paul Croutch used to sleep, before the 59-year-old was beaten to death last month, apparently just for being there -- and for being homeless. 

"It's a classic case of homeless-bashing -- a hate crime -- and it has to be prosecuted as such," said Michael Shapcott, an anti-poverty activist. 

Charged with the killing are three young reserve soldiers attached to the Queen's Own Rifles, Jeffery Hall, 21, Mountaz Ibrahim, 23, and Brian Deganis, 21. They were at the nearby armoury that night and had been to a farewell dinner downtown for a group of visiting German soldiers.

Another homeless person, a woman called Val, was nearly a second victim the night Croutch was killed. She was checked in for the night on a nearby bench when she saw Croutch being beaten.

She's told police and others that when she tried to intervene on Croutch's behalf, the attackers turned on her.

She's so frightened since that night, she's hiding out in a women's shelter.

Homeless-bashing

According to Shapcott, other homeless people in Canada have been attacked, even murdered, simply because their ragged state makes them repulsive to some and a target for hatred.

Shapcott wants to send "a clear signal ... that a vulnerable population is not be an open target for hatred."

His organization, the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, has asked the attorney general to prosecute Croutch's killing as a hate crime, no different from a gay-bashing or a violent anti-Semitic act.

"From the reports we have heard from people who were there that night, it was Mr. Croutch's status, and the second woman's status, as homeless people that figured directly in it," Shapcott says.

Back at the bench

Except for the voices in his head telling him Interpol was after him, Paul Croutch had been living alone on the streets of Toronto for about six years.

Sitting around drinking free coffee at the Sally Ann may look easy, but just being a homeless person can be very dangerous.


Pretty condos and crackheads: neighbours in this downtown Toronto neighbourhood. (Photo: Brenda Craig)

Croutch's old bench, near Toronto's Queen and Jarvis streets, is in an area where the haves collide with the have-nots, a place where half-million-dollar Victorian row house renos co-exist with homeless shelters, crack freaks and rooming houses.

Although lately, the locals will tell you downtown gentrification is definitely getting the upper hand.

On one sunny September day, Debbie Meredith was walking her dogs in the park across the street from her tidy Victorian home. She's lived here for 15 years and walks easy among the hundreds of homeless types that find themselves adrift in Toronto's lower Cabbagetown.

"Oh, there are some elitists down here that don't like the people down here, but most people are OK with it," she said.

She saw Croutch regularly there on his bench, occasionally bringing him a coffee and saying hello. "We used to call him 'Buddy Boy,'" she says. "You've got to be decent to everyone."

On the other side of the park, an older gentleman from the suburbs is passing the time while waiting for his car to be fixed at a nearby garage.

"Let's face it - they're not all angels," he said, reluctant to give his name. "Hate crime? Some of them have more money than you and me. This is self-inflicted down here."
 
A beautiful mind 
Last known photo of Paul Croutch.

Paul Croutch used to tell people he once ran a newspaper in Dawson Creek, but he also used to tell them he was being persecuted and would hound shelter staff to fax his handwritten letters to various government officials.

Now that he's dead, everyone finds out that it was true, at least the part about running a newspaper.

At his funeral down at the Jarvis Street Salvation Army, his ex-wife, Marilyn Howard, and a former business colleague showed up to eulogize him as a good and kind man, a clever man, an entrepreneur, a man who loved his daughter and who drove a Toyota Camry until his brain shorted out.

"He was given to Children's Aid when he was five years old and I expect that's where the trouble started," said Howard. 

Mental illness pushed him out on the streets where he lost his status as a decent Canadian and he became just a homeless guy. His daughter didn't come to the funeral. She's a scientist in the United States and doesn't want to talk about her father.

Another friend of Paul Croutch

Ontario Lt.-Gov. James Bartleman, however, doesn't mind talking about Paul Croutch, and offered to speak at the funeral. 

A few years ago, the two met when Bartleman was doing a volunteer breakfast with the Salvation Army. Bartleman says he remembers "a well-spoken man, obviously a person who was well-read and very likable. He was an individual with a sense of dignity."

Bartleman has made improving the lives of the mentally ill one of his goals as lieutenant-governor of Ontario. 

He says that the killing means that all Canadians need to ask themselves how society failed Paul Croutch.

   
The hard to love and easy to hate

Who knows who failed Paul Croutch? The list is probably pretty long.

Until he was beaten to death, he was just part of the grey mass of raggedy men and women that we mostly try not to see, the people we look away from as they float aimlessly among us. 

Marilyn Churley, a New Democrat member of the Ontario legislature, agrees the Croutch killing ought to be considered a hate crime. 

"People who are homeless are sometimes treated as vile and despicable people and treated as less than human on many occasions," says Churley.

Certainly it seems Paul Croutch got the less-than-human treatment last month. His ashes are in a little box at the Salvation Army's Gateway Centre. Dion Oxford, director of the centre, says they plan to build a memorial to homeless people who are killed or die on the streets. Croutch's will be the first name on the memorial.

As for anti-poverty activist Michael Shapcott, he says this isn't the last people will hear of Paul Croutch.  He wants a "signal to ripple across this country" that hating the homeless is a crime. 

http://www.cbcunlocked.com/artman/publish/features/article_216.shtml

 

[bossi]

Globe & Mail - 14 Sep 05

Viceroy praises murder victim
By PAUL CHOI

Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Updated at 10:10 PM EDT

Lieutenant-Governor James Bartleman said yesterday that two brief encounters with a homeless man who was beaten to death last month "enriched" his life.

Mr. Bartleman joined more than 100 people at the Salvation Army Gateway to remember Paul Croutch, 59, who died on Aug. 31 after suffering a beating while sleeping on a bench in Moss Park in Toronto.

Three reservists have since been charged in his death.

"He was an individual with a unique sense of dignity, whose life we have come together to commemorate," Mr. Bartleman said in a speech at the funeral. "He was a man with accomplishments in his life, with friends, and was someone who touched the lives of many."

His connection with Mr. Croutch began a few years ago, when he took part in a breakfast run conducted by the Salvation Army, Mr. Bartleman said. He said he offered Mr. Croutch coffee after spotting him sleeping on a bench and they struck up a conversation.

"We talked for a few minutes. He told me he had been a newspaper editor in a small community in northern British Columbia, and had been living on the streets of Toronto for years," he said.

"I had the pleasure of meeting him again elsewhere. He was always well-spoken, obviously a person who was celebrated and very likable. I remember after that first morning, I told my wife when I went home that I had met a really remarkable person. He enriched my life from those brief encounters."

Yesterday, friends and family of Mr. Croutch remembered the man with stories of his "healthy" days -- before paranoid thoughts pushed him to the streets.

"He was entrepreneurial, he had successes in his chosen professions," said Don Harris, director of the Good Neighbours' Club, a drop-in centre where Mr. Croutch would take showers and rest. "But slowly his illness began to overtake his logic. . . until finally he had to be on his own."

Gary McCrimmon, a worker at the centre, said Mr. Croutch was a bit of a "loner" who never caused any trouble while he ate his meals and did his laundry.

"He was a quiet guy who mostly kept to himself," Mr. McCrimmon said. "He was easygoing, very smart, and very opinionated. But much of his time was consumed by thoughts of paranoia toward those he believed wronged him."

At the service, Marilyn Howard, who was married to Mr. Croutch for 25 years, said he was a loving father who lived a "really good life" until his mental illness began to consume him.

"Unfortunately, he refused help at every turn," said Ms. Howard, who urged people to treat the problems of homelessness and mental illness more seriously.

"We need to talk about these [mental health issues]," she said. "We shouldn't pretend we don't see these people. Look them in the eye and say 'hello.' Just try to elevate people's lives. One person can make a difference."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050914/HOMELESS14/TPNational/Toronto

 

[bossi]

Toronto Sun - 14 Sep

He led a good life: Ex-wife
By Sarah Green, Toronto Sun

Paul Richard Franklin Croutch was just 12 years old when he chose his own name.

A ward of the CAS from age 5, Croutch, who hated his given name, took the names of his favourite Leafs -- Paul Masnick, Dick Duff and Frank Mahovlich. Croutch was the name of his foster family.

His former wife, Marilyn Howard, suggested Croutch's rocky start in life hinted at the difficulties to come.

In his later years, Croutch believed "everybody was against him," Howard said.

Before his mental illness took hold, Croutch was a born salesman, who could "sell igloos to the Inuit," she said. "He led a good life, but the illness overtook him."

After moving to northern B.C. in the late 1970s, Croutch drove long hours on the Alaska highway selling car parts. It wasn't uncommon for him to deliver sides of beef or lobsters to friends he had met in remote areas.

His memory for facts, names and dates was incredible, said Dion Oxford, director of the Salvation Army Gateway shelter. "He was much more than a dishevelled man on the streets. He was a man of brilliance."

John Crowe, a former co-worker, recalled Croutch's quick wit. "It was very hard to be serious around Paul."

http://www.torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2005/09/14/1216281-sun.html

++++++

Homeless man an 'innocent'Lt.-Gov. mourns murder victim
By SARAH GREEN, TORONTO SUN

They sat side by side at a funeral yesterday for Paul Croutch -- estranged family and old friends, a lieutenant-governor and the homeless.

So varied and so many were the lives touched by Crouch, 59, once a husband, father and entrepreneur who was homeless after mental illness stole his comfortable life.

Croutch, living on Toronto's streets since 1999, was beaten to death last month in Moss Park. Three reservists with Queen's Own Rifles are charged with second-degree murder.

"Paul was asleep out among the wolves as an innocent," said Ontario Lt.-Gov. James Bartleman, who spoke at Croutch's funeral in the chapel at the Salvation Army Gateway shelter. "He was also surrounded by angels."

Bartleman first met Croutch three years ago while serving breakfast to the homeless. He offered coffee and soup on a park bench to Croutch, who spoke of his life as a newspaperman and founder of the Dawson Creek Mirror 25 years ago.

"He was always well-spoken, obviously a person who was well-read ... he also told me he was being persecuted," Bartleman said. "I told my wife I had met a really remarkable person."

He urged mourners to remember Croutch not as a homeless statistic, "but as an individual who touched the lives of so many with his own unique dignity."

Recent photos of Croutch, bearded and street weary, were displayed on a table beside pictures from a much happier time as he cuddled in bed in 1977 with his infant daughter. He was estranged from the woman, a scientist living in the U.S.

Croutch's former wife, Marilyn Howard, who flew in from B.C., said she hopes his death will force people to see the homeless -- a word she hates -- as people.

http://www.torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2005/09/14/1216282-sun.html

 

[bossi]

YOUR LETTERS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our third mailbag
By CBCUnlocked
Updated: Sep 15, 2005, 08:37
 
Editors:

With the exception of the term "freak," your article on the murder of Paul Croutch was (nearly) exemplary.

One has to ask what role media play in preserving stereotype and prejudice. Sometimes it is an active role, when harmful words appear deliberately, and more often a passive one, when words appear "automatically," not actually chosen, but reflections of prevailing paradigms.

"...hating the homeless is a crime," your closing words, is one of those reflections: There is no "the" homeless.  There are people: men, women, children,families.

-Harold, Florida

http://www.cbcunlocked.com/artman/publish/article_231.shtml

 

[bossi]

Slain man, soldiers argued weeks earlier, witnesses say
By Anthony Reinhart (Globe and Mail)
Thursday, September 22, 2005 Page A18

A few weeks before Paul Croutch was beaten to death near Moss Park Armoury, the homeless man had a verbal confrontation with three uniformed soldiers outside the facility, according to affidavits signed by two outreach workers.

Zoe Dodd and Matt Bahen, who deliver supplies to homeless people for the Street Health Nursing Foundation, signed their statements yesterday before a lawyer and 150 others at the All Saints Church Community Centre. The event was a rally organized by the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, which wants the killing of Mr. Croutch to be prosecuted as a hate crime.

Three reserve soldiers -- Mountaz Ibrahim, 23, Jeffery Hall, 21, and Brian Deganis, 21 -- were charged with second-degree murder. All three served with the Queen's Own Rifles, based at the armoury.

Mr. Croutch, 59, was beaten as he slept Aug. 31. About three weeks before that, "Three uniformed soldiers were standing on the steps of the armoury and shouting derogatory and abusive comments toward Mr. Croutch and a small group of people who were sitting on the lawn under the trees of the armoury," Mr. Bahen wrote in his affidavit. "Mr. Croutch was visible [sic] upset and shouting back at the soldiers in an incoherent manner."

According to Ms. Dodd's statement, "We then proceeded past the armoury and I asked the soldiers to go inside the building." The two workers then left the area.

The affidavits have been mailed to Ontario Attorney-General Michael Bryant.

Ms. Dodd told her story to CITY-TV last week, and then called Toronto police. She was told that homicide detectives, swamped after a violent summer, would take her statement the next week.

"I feel that this is a serious issue," she said, explaining why she went public before talking to police.

When told of the affidavits, Major Tim Lourie, a Canadian Forces spokesman, said "this is not the first time that we've heard this through the media." He encouraged anyone with a complaint about soldiers' conduct to make it to police and military authorities.

Major Lourie said all of the estimated 2,500 troops under 32 Brigade, which includes the Queen's Own Rifles and other reserve units in and around Toronto, have been encouraged to do the same.

Colonel Gary Stafford, commander of the brigade, sent a letter to every soldier Sept. 14, "asking all of you to reveal any crimes or incidents of harassment that you may be aware of."

"From the time we pulled on our first set of combat boots, we have understood that the army's expectations of us, both in and out of uniform, are high," Col. Stafford wrote. "The harassment and sensitivity training we've all had reinforces these expectations. There is no room for hooligan or criminal behaviour in the Canadian Forces."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050922/CROUTCH22/Columnists/Columnist?author=Anthony+Reinhart

 

[bossi]

Reservists now face first-degree murder chargesPart-time soldiers accused of killing homeless man in Moss Park in August

CANADIAN PRESS (as reported by Toronto Star, Sep. 27, 2005. 06:35 PM)

Charges have been upgraded against three Canadian Forces reservists accused of killing a homeless man.

Toronto police say, after consulting with the Crown, the accused have now been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Paul Croutch.

Croutch, who was from British Columbia, died after he was beaten in a downtown Toronto park last month.

Jeffery Hall, Mountaz Ibrahim and Brian Deganis were originally charged with second-degree murder.

Murder is first-degree when it is planned and deliberate.

All three still face a charge of assault causing bodily harm.

The accused are to appear in court on Friday in relation to the upgraded charge.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1127857814048&call_pageid=968332188492

 

[bossi]

Reservists face tougher charges in beating death of homeless man
By UNNATI GANDHI  (Globe & Mail)
Wednesday, September 28, 2005 Page A15

Charges against three army reservists accused of killing a homeless man last month have been upgraded to first-degree murder.

"After reviewing the evidence that we have to date, along with Supreme Court decisions and case law that already exist, there is reasonable grounds to lay the charge of first-degree murder," Toronto police Detective Wayne Fowler, the leading homicide investigator on the case, said yesterday.

About 4:40 a.m. on Aug. 31, 59-year-old Paul Croutch was found beaten to death in his sleeping bag next to the Moss Park Armoury at Queen and Jarvis Streets.

He was suffering what the coroner called "blunt-impact head trauma . . . consistent with being punched, kicked or stomped."

Mr. Croutch was taken to hospital and was pronounced dead.

Three reserve soldiers with the Queen's Own Rifles -- Brian Deganis, 22, Jeffrey Hall, 21, and Mountaz Ibrahim, 23 -- attached to the armoury, are now charged with first-degree murder and assault causing bodily harm.

All three had been out celebrating with about 50 other reservists the night before, just 10 days after returning from exercises at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, northwest of Ottawa.

The Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, an anti-poverty group, has called on Ontario's Attorney-General to prosecute the death as a hate crime, saying Mr. Croutch was targeted because he was homeless.

Det. Fowler said the upgrading of a charge "happens from time to time" if further evidence comes to light while consulting with the Crown attorney. He said that's what happened in this case.

"On second-degree murder, there is no pre-planning or deliberation taken into account, whereas on a first-degree, there is," he said.

News of the new charge had not reached some members of the Armed Forces yesterday.

"We're all shocked with the situation. These are very serious charges. They were serious charges before, and if they've been upgraded, then they're even more serious," said Captain Mark Giles of the National Investigation Service, a military agency that has been working on the homicide probe with Toronto police.

"It's a tragic situation and one that's before the courts and we'll have to let that process play out."

Boris Bytensky, Mr. Ibrahim's defence lawyer, said he could not comment on the case.

The three men are scheduled to appear at College Park at 10 a.m. on Friday in relation to the upgraded charge.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050928/CROUTCH28/TPNational/Toronto

New charges brought in murder of homeless editor
Siri Agrell, National Post
Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Toronto Police have elevated charges against three Canadian reservists to first-degree murder in the death of a homeless man last month, a charge they say reflects "planning and deliberation."

On Aug. 31, police were called to Moss Park, near Jarvis and Queen streets, where they found 59-year-old Paul Croutch zipped in his sleeping bag suffering wounds consistent with "being stomped."

Mr. Croutch, a mentally ill former newspaper editor who had lived on Toronto streets for years, died in hospital as the result of a severe beating, police say.

Three members of the Canadian Armed Forces reserves, which operates out of the Moss Park Armory near where Mr. Croutch was found, were arrested later that week and charged with second- degree murder. Jeffery Hall, 21, Mountaz Ibrahim, 23, and Brian Deganis, 21, all of Toronto, will appear in court this Friday to face the more serious charge.

Detective Wayne Fowler of the homicide squad said police consulted with the Crown Attorney's office before laying charges of first degree murder.

http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/newsletter/story.html?s_id=l53c0lDWrooeHhzz3eQJZ8PZBCnwI2iiP7lJQR2Yq7CKAh70ft%2bR5A%3d%3d

Reservists now face first-degree murder chargesPart-time soldiers accused of killing homeless man in Moss Park in August

CANADIAN PRESS (as reported by Toronto Star, Sep. 27, 2005. 06:35 PM)

Charges have been upgraded against three Canadian Forces reservists accused of killing a homeless man.

Toronto police say, after consulting with the Crown, the accused have now been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Paul Croutch.

Croutch, who was from British Columbia, died after he was beaten in a downtown Toronto park last month.

Jeffery Hall, Mountaz Ibrahim and Brian Deganis were originally charged with second-degree murder.

Murder is first-degree when it is planned and deliberate.

All three still face a charge of assault causing bodily harm.

The accused are to appear in court on Friday in relation to the upgraded charge.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1127857814048&call_pageid=968332188492

 

[bossi]

Periodic reminder:

This thread is offered as a service to Army.ca members, as a convenient means to monitor media coverage of the Regent Park murder.  Unfortunately, due to the tendency for overly emotional commentary, this thread will remain locked in order to avoid speculation, innuendo, rumour and misinformation.
So-called "editorial control" will rest with those media sources reporting on this story.

Looking at this from another angle, this approach is somewhat analogous to Army.ca saying "It would be inappropriate for us to comment upon a matter which is before the courts."

We ask you to please respect this difficult decision, and refrain from starting new threads, please.  Thank you.

Television coverage:  City-TV Toronto/Pulse24.com 28 Sep 05

Facing First-Degree

Three Canadian Forces reservists accused of killing a homeless man will now face first-degree murder charges.

B.C. man Paul Croutch died after being beaten in a Toronto park last month. He was found brutally stomped on near the Moss Park Armoury, where Canadian soldiers train.

Doctors tried to save his life at St. Michael's Hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries. Autopsy results showed the victim died from blunt impact head trauma.

Jeffery Hall, Mountaz Ibrahim and Brian Deganis were first charged with second-degree murder in the 59-year-old's death, but police upgraded the charges to first-degree this week after speaking with the Crown.

First-degree murder charges suggest a planned, deliberate act.

All three still face assault causing bodily harm accusations.

The motive behind the vicious act remains a mystery, but Croutch's death led to serious allegations by those who work with the homeless in that area that they'd seen soldiers harassing him in the weeks prior to his murder.

"They were using derogatory remarks," claimed outreach worker Zoe Dodd. "They were calling everybody 'crack heads' and I just remember them swearing. I just remember them insulting everybody."

Canadian Forces officials took part in the investigation that led to the arrests and charges against the three soldiers. They say that there hadn't been any indication of a previous problem.

September 28, 2005

http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20050928-005/page.asp

 

[old medic]

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080303/jury_murder_080303/20080303/?hub=TorontoHome

Jury selection begins in homeless man's murder trial

toronto.ctv.ca
Monday March 3rd 2008

Jury selection began Monday in the murder trial of a homeless man, found beaten to death behind the Moss Park Armoury nearly three years ago.

Three Canadian Army reservists pleaded not guilty to second degree murder in a makeshift courtroom inside the John Bassett Theatre in Toronto's Metro Convention Centre.

The location is also where 450 potential jurors were separated into groups of 30 as part of the initial jury selection process.

Court proceedings were moved into a theatre because there wasn't enough space in the courthouse.

John Rosen, a veteran defence lawyer, said it's not unusual for proceedings to move to a nearby community centre or hotel. However, he said, he's never preformed his legal duties on an actual stage.

"I prefer the stage actually because people can see better," he told CTV Toronto.

Suzanna Handley who appeared for jury duty selection but was excused said she was surprised at the setting.

"I thought we were coming in for a screening process, I didn't expect to see a judge and lawyers."

Jury duty is expected to last until the end of the week.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Chris Eby.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/309091
Reservists' murder trial has dramatic opening act

Mar 04, 2008 04:30 AM
Betsy Powell


The first act of a real-life courtroom drama opened yesterday in a downtown Toronto theatre where jury selection began in the case of three armed forces' reservists charged in the August 2005 beating death of a homeless man in Moss Park.

The 1,330-seat John Bassett Theatre on Front St., the venue used by fame-seekers warbling hit songs on the TV show Canadian Idol, was turned into a makeshift court because of the large number of people – 450 – summoned for jury duty. The largest courtroom at Superior Court can only accommodate 210.
Prospective jurors sat in the auditorium's plush seats waiting for the registrar to pull their names from a wooden drum as the legal cast performed their roles on the brightly lit stage.

Presiding over the proceedings was Ontario Superior Court Justice Eugene Ewaschuk.
Also sitting on stage with their lawyers were the three accused: Brian Deganis, Jeffery Hall, and Mountaz Ibrahim. Each said they planned to plead not guilty to the second-degree murder of Paul Croutch, 59, and assault causing bodily harm.

The assault charge relates to the attack on a homeless woman who said she tried to intervene. The accused are all in their 20s.
Ewaschuk explained the purpose of the off-site proceedings was to reduce the jury pool into manageable groups of 30. They will then be directed to report to the courthouse at 361 University Ave. where the process will continue.
And, on the eve of March Break, the only reason for being excused from duty is if a potential juror has a vacation booked, he said.

First up was a young man from East York who was reminded to remove his baseball cap as he approached the front of the stage.
"You're in a courtroom," Ewaschuk's voice boomed, acoustically enhanced by the microphone pinned to his robes.
The young man was followed to the stage by truck drivers, accountants, administrative assistants and nurses.

Ewaschuk excused several dozen people, sometimes telling them to "have a good time" or, in the case of a woman heading to Las Vegas, "good luck."
The trial is set to begin March 17 and is expected to last six to eight weeks.

 

[old medic]

Periodic reminder:

This thread is offered as a service to Army.ca members, as a convenient means to monitor media coverage of the Regent Park murder.  Unfortunately, due to the tendency for overly emotional commentary, this thread will remain locked in order to avoid speculation, innuendo, rumour and misinformation.
So-called "editorial control" will rest with those media sources reporting on this story.

Looking at this from another angle, this approach is somewhat analogous to Army.ca saying "It would be inappropriate for us to comment upon a matter which is before the courts."

We ask you to please respect this difficult decision, and refrain from starting new threads, please.  Thank you.

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080303/jury_murder_080303/20080303/?hub=TorontoHome

Jury selection begins in homeless man's murder trial

toronto.ctv.ca

Jury selection began Monday in the murder trial of a homeless man, found beaten to death behind the Moss Park Armoury nearly three years ago.

Three Canadian Army reservists pleaded not guilty to second degree murder in a makeshift courtroom inside the John Bassett Theatre in Toronto's Metro Convention Centre.

The location is also where 450 potential jurors were separated into groups of 30 as part of the initial jury selection process.

Court proceedings were moved into a theatre because there wasn't enough space in the courthouse.

John Rosen, a veteran defence lawyer, said it's not unusual for proceedings to move to a nearby community centre or hotel. However, he said, he's never preformed his legal duties on an actual stage.

"I prefer the stage actually because people can see better," he told CTV Toronto.

Suzanna Handley who appeared for jury duty selection but was excused said she was surprised at the setting.

"I thought we were coming in for a screening process, I didn't expect to see a judge and lawyers."

Jury duty is expected to last until the end of the week.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Chris Eby.

Jury duty ?? = Jury selection ?

 

[the 48th regulator]

Army Reservists Go On Trial In Beating Death Of Homeless Man
Monday March 17, 2008
CityNews.ca Staff

Three Army reservists are expected to plead not guilty Monday in the beating death of a homeless man.

Brian Deganis, Jeffery Hall and Mountaz Ibrahim go to trial this week, charged with second-degree murder after 59-year-old Paul Croutch's lifeless body was found in Moss Park in August 2005.

They were all members of the Queen's Own Rifles regiment at the time and had attended a social function at nearby Moss Park Armoury that night.

All three reportedly said in the past they planned to plead not guilty to both second-degree murder and a charge of assault causing bodily harm, relating to an attack on a homeless woman who claims she tried to intervene.

The accused are all in their 20s.

It's believed the trial will take anywhere from six to eight weeks.