AM900 CHML News

Second man charged in Tim Bosma murder

CHML — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:38:00 GMT

The second man arrested in the murder of Tim Bosma has made his first court appearance.

25-year-old Mark Smich of Oakville has been officially charged with first degree murder in the case.

Wearing a brown t-shirt and dark pants, the tall and lanky Smich said very little and showed no emotion during his brief appearance at the John Sopinka Courthouse.

Outside the courtroom, Smich's lawyer Thomas Dungey made a brief statement, saying his client "will be pleading not guilty" and "we will be defending this case vigorously."

Smich has been remanded in custody until his next court appearance on June 13th, the same day co-accused Dellen Millard returns to court.

Both will appear via video.

Hamilton police have said the 32-year-old Bosma was murdered shortly after taking two men for a test drive in his truck on May 6.

His burned remains were found just over a week later on a rural property in Waterloo Region owned by Millard.

Police are still looking for a third suspect in their investigation.

The court has also issued a publication ban on evidence.

Man charged with committing indecent acts

CHML — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:09:00 GMT

Police have charged a man following a series of indecent acts along the Rail Trail bike path.

Yesterday mornng between 8 and 10, police say a man exposed himself and committed indecent acts along the trail between Limeridge Road and Charlton Avenue.

Police say some victims have come forward but it's believed there may be others who witnessed the man's actions.

A 33-year-old has been charged and released on a promise-to-appear in court.

Chief demands written apology from Whitehead

Hamilton Spectator — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:43:00 GMT

Looks like the dust up between Hamilton Police Chief Glenn DeCaire and City councillor Terry Whitehead is going to round two.

The pair got testy with each other earlier this week at the Police Services Board Meeting over a pair of photos of ACTION Squad officers idly chatting.

Whitehead says they were standing around for 45 minutes.

The Chief says the photos were taken nine seconds apart.

Whitehead was heard -- during a break in the meeting -- calling the Chief a liar and using some unparliamentary language.

Chief DeCaire is demanding a written apology from Whitehead and he wants it to include a retraction of the words used to undermine his credibility.

Whitehead has sent two concilliatory emails which the Chief says includes only a "qualified" apology.

Both are willing to take the initial allegation of officers idly chatting to an independent body to investigate.

Transit-only lane coming to portion of King Street

Ken Mann — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:48:00 GMT

Hamilton politicians are taking the first step towards a potential shift in the way that transit operates in the city.

They've approved a one year pilot project --- which will result in a transit-only lane along a two-kilometre portion of King Street between Mary and Dundurn starting in September. The dedicated transit lane will be on the right side with parking in the left-hand curb lane.

The pilot had initially been rejected during last week's public works committee meeting -- but that decision has been reversed by City Council.

Director of Transit Don Hull says it's about taking "baby steps" towards a possible future with light rail or bus rapid transit in Hamilton.

Five councillors voted against the project with the inconvenience to motorists among their concerns.

The 300 thousand dollar project is being funded by the province, through Metrolinx "quick wins" funding.

Ticats sign three defenders

Rick Zamperin — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:57:00 GMT

The Tiger-Cats have signed two of their draft picks from the 2012 CFL draft.

Hamilton has inked 2nd round pick Courtney Stephen and 3rd round pick Arnaud Gascon-Nadon, as well as Hasan Hazime, a 5th round draft pick of the Edmonton Eskimos in 2012.

Stephen, a defensive back who was the 8th overall selection in '12, has spent the last three seasons at Northern Illinois after transferring from Wilfrid Laurier.

In four seasons as a defensive lineman at Laval, Gascon-Nadon twice won the J.P. Metras Trophy, awarded to the outstanding down lineman in the CIS.

He also won the Vanier Cup with the Rouge et Or in 2010 and 2012.

Gascon-Nadon underwent shoulder surgery in March and is out indefinitely.

The Ticats acquired Hazime, a defensive lineman, in a February 27th trade with Edmonton.

Taxpayers on the hook for lawsuit against city?

Hamilton Spectator — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:41:00 GMT

A wrongful dismissal suit filed against the City of Hamilton by three former staffers is costing taxpayers almost 600 thousand dollars in outside legal fees.

The figure is outlined in an update on the suit which is seeking seven million dollars for the three former staff members.

The lawsuit dates back to 2009, when the trio claim they were victims of a botched harassment investigation that treated them unfairly.

The city said they were fired for mistreating a taxi inspector.

They also say the "real perpetrator" of the harassment was Ward 3 Councillor Bernie Morelli because the inspector had angered one of Morelli's supporters by enforcing taxi bylaws.

Second arrest made in Bosma case

CHML — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:21:00 GMT

On the same day that family and friends of Tim Bosma celebrated the Ancaster man's life, Hamilton Police made a second arrest in connection with his murder.

Superintendent Dan Kinsella says Hamilton Police have arrested Mark Smich, a 25 year old from Oakville.

Smich will be charged with first degree murder when he appears in court tomorrow.

It is alleged that Smich and 27 year old Dellen Millard, the other accused in the case, went to Bosma's home on the evening of May.6th to test drive the pick up truck that he was trying to sell online.

Bosma's remains were later found on a farm owned by Millard in Kitchener-Waterloo.

Superintendent Kinsella has also announced a second major development in the case.

He confirms that investigators have seized a second vehicle that was involved in the incident and captured on video. It's described as a dark blue Yukon, owned by Millard.

According to a report from Halton SMICH STORY Smich was recently charged with mischief under $5,000 related to the spray-painting of an overpass.

Superintendent Dan Kinsella makes the announcement

Remarks by Superintendent Kinsella:

On April 28^th, 2013 Timothy Bosma posted his 2007 Dodge Ram pick up for sale on two different web sites. On Monday May 6^th a male arranged by telephone to view the truck at Mr. Bosma’s residence in Ancaster. At approximately 9:20 pm Mr. Bosma went for a test drive with two young males in this pickup and never returned.

Police were notified of Mr. Bosma’s disappearance immediately by his spouse and an investigation began. Due to the unusual nature of the disappearance the Homicide Unit took over the investigation.

The Investigation revealed that Tim Bosma was murdered; he was taken to a location in Waterloo where his body was burned.

The police community has been bolstered by the support of the community.

The community today, gathered for the memorial service in memory of Tim and while the memorial took place our officers continue to follow leads.

The Tip Line and Crime Stoppers have received over 700 TIPS to our hotline and we continue to prioritize information and develop leads.

Since the onset of the investigation, the Hamilton Police Service has led the search for Tim and the search for evidence and this has now execution of over 15 search warrants and production orders. This has been a very time consuming process but continues to reward investigators with credible evidence to advance the investigation in relentless pursuit of any, and all, persons responsible for the death of Tim Bosma.

This is also a very time consuming process. For example, one search warrant, for a vehicle related to the case, took Forensic investigators 2 full days to gather, record, seize, categorize and process the evidence. Scientific testing will take longer and I want to thank Director of CFS, Tony Tessarolo and the CFS staff for their efforts and contributions.

We have deployed as many as 120 officers to participate in the investigation, and searches, most notably at the Dellen Millard farm located on Roseville Road. The forensic analysis of two locations in the Waterloo Region are now complete and at this point in the investigation there is no confirmation that other human remains have been located. We are convinced that the remains found were those of Tim Bosma.

Once again, I want to thank our partners from the Waterloo, OPP, Halton, Niagara, Brantford and Toronto Police Services as well as with the CBSA for their dedication of resources to this case.

The investigation into the murder of Tim Bosma has had some significant developments and continues.

Earlier in the investigation we spoke about a second vehicle that was involved in this incident that was captured on video. Police have determined that this vehicle was a dark blue Yukon owned by Dellen Millard. This Yukon has been seized by Investigators and a search warrant was obtained to search the vehicle. Police continue to analyze the exhibits taken from this vehicle in the search for additional evidence.

We have now identified the second male who attended Mr. Bosma’s home and drove off with Mr. Bosma and Dellen Millard-Suspect #2

Today, the Hamilton Police Service arrested Mark Smich, 25-years-old of Oakville, Ontario.

He was arrested on Dorval Drive north of Wycroft Drive, just after 10:00 am this morning.

Mr. Smich will be held in custody and will appear in court tomorrow at 9:30 a.m., at the John Sopinka Courthouse. He will face a charge of First Degree Murder.

Remembering Tim Bosma

CHML — Sun, 19 May 2013 14:00:00 GMT

More than a thousand people packed into Carmen's Banquet Centre Wednesday for an emotional memorial service for Tim Bosma.

The 32-year-old Ancaster man was remembered as an average guy who was a caring and loving husband, father and friend.

Speakers included Tim's sister Michelle DenBak, his father Hank, and his wife Sharlene Bosma.

Sharlene says she has been angry at times, and has yelled at God, asking, "Why my Tim? Why my little girl's daddy? Why didn't he answer my prayers to bring him home."

Click below to listen to Sharlene's speech.

Pastor John Veenstra told the mourners "Life is precious, treat it with care."

Tim and Sharlene held their wedding reception at Carmen's more than three years ago.

Many family members wore purple clothing to the memorial, which was the colour theme at their reception.

Listen to the full service

Part one

Part two

Got a story relating to diversity issues?

CHML — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:48:00 GMT

It is a chance to steer the conversation.

The Hamilton Media Advisory Council is holding a story meeting tonight at The Spectator's auditorium.

The aim is to have community members come out and pitch stories related to diversity issues in the city.

Representatives from all of Hamilton's main media outlets sit on the board and will listen to five minute presentations.

The event is free and starts at 7pm.

Former payroll clerk charged with fraud

CHML — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:40:00 GMT

An 18-month investigation into payroll fraud has resulted in charges against a Grimsby woman.

It began in September of 2011 when police were advised of some anomalies in the payroll records of an east end manufacturing business.

The investigation by police has revealed that over 200-thousand dollars was stolen over a five year period.

54-year-old Janis Cavanagh has been charged with three counts of fraud over five-thousand dollars, uttering fraudulent documents and money laundering.

Police say she was employed as a payroll clerk at the business in question until August of 2011.