Person charged with manslaughter to be tried by supreme court judge

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — One of three people facing manslaughter charges following an incident in Fort St. John this summer has elected their mode of trial.

Katlin Cota (born in 1988), Dyllon Cazes (born in 1993) and Ethan Dore (born in 2000) were arrested in late June following the death of a person in the parking lot of Fort St. John Alliance Church.

Police responded after the man was found unresponsive in the parking lot, and later pronounced dead at the scene on June 24th.

All three were charged with manslaughter. Manslaughter is an indictable offence, meaning it’s a serious crime with a maximum penalty of life in prison according to the Canadian Criminal Code.

People accused of indictable offences like breach of trust have the right to choose, or ‘elect,’ whether they wish to be tried by a provincial or supreme court judge. 

They can also decide if they wish for a jury to be present if they elect to be tried by a supreme court judge.

According to a representative from the BC Prosecution Service (BCPS), on Monday, September 29th, Cota elected to be tried by a supreme court judge sitting without a jury. 

Cazes and Dore still have yet to elect their modes of trial. They’re both scheduled to appear in court on Monday, October 20th to do so.

Cota, meanwhile, will return to court to schedule their trial on November 17th.

Dore and Cota have both been denied bail, while Cazes still has yet to schedule a bail hearing, according to the BCPS. A publication ban is in effect regarding the details of their bail hearings.