Wanted Brantford man arrested in Northern Ontario

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Brantford police say a 35-year-old Brantford man wanted for murder was arrested Thursday.

Roger Earl Van Every was taken into custody in Northern Ontario at about 2 a.m., police said.

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Further details of his arrest were not immediately available but police thanked North Bay and Anishinabek police services and the OPP for their help. Anishinabek police are headquartered in Garden River, near Sault Ste. Marie, but have detachments throughout Northern Ontario.

Brantford police have been looking for Van Every since the Feb. 8 shooting at the Galaxy Motel on Colborne Street East that left 42-year-old Jason David Kossatz of Brantford dead and two Brantford men, aged 25 and 26, in hospital with injuries.

Police said Van Every is charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder with a firearm and conspiracy to commit murder.

A second man wanted in the shooting, Shajjad Hossain Idrish, 22, of Hamilton, was arrested Feb. 14 in London. He also is charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder with a firearm and conspiracy to commit murder.

Soon after the shooting, police said two men were in custody but provided no other details.

Police said Van Every is related to Lynn Van Every, 62, and Larry Reynolds, 64, who were shot to death in their Brantford home on Park Road South last July 18. But they said their investigation into the motel shooting is not related to the homicides last July.

Van Every was living at his parents’ Park Road South home after being arrested during a June 2018 drug raid on Jerseyville home, east of Brantford. Van Every and three others were charged with possession of fentanyl and cocaine for the purposes of trafficking, possession of methamphetamine, psilocybin, hydromorphone and oxycodone, possession of stolen property over $5,000 and possession of a shotgun without a license.

Reynolds and his wife pledged $3,000 each and agreed to act as Roger Van Every’s sureties when he was released on bail four days after the raid and his arrest.

Van Every’s bail conditions required him to remain at the Park Road South home except for medical emergencies. He could leave the home only in the company of Reynolds or Lynn Van Every.

The drug charges were proceeding through the court system but, following the murders of his parents, Roger Van Every stopped showing up for court, missing hearings on Aug. 1 an Aug. 13.

Van Every found a new surety who applied to be relieved of the responsibility when Van Every failed to show up for an Oct. 3 pre-trial hearing.

A bench warrant was issued and Van Every was eventually back in the court system.

Meanwhile, charges against two of his co-accused – Dila Bataineh and Jason Woodward – were dropped. The third accused – Jassem Jassem – the husband of Bataineh, took responsibility for the drugs and was sentenced in Brampton where he faced other charges.

When Van Every did appear in court he was allowed to plead guilty to two breaches of his bail conditions, including one for failing to attend court. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail but had already spent more that in jail waiting for his case to be heard.

On Jan. 14, Van Every walked out of court free of charges.

The murder of Lynn Van Every and Reynolds, meanwhile, remains unsolved.

Surveillance video released by police show a gunman dressed in black and wearing a balaclava running from a vehicle up the street toward the Park Road South home. He returned to his vehicle and drove off, followed by another car.

A black Chrysler 300, four-door with shiny chrome trim around the doors, 10-spoke shiny chrome rims, blacked-out windows and black door handles was later recovered.

Police have said the shooting and murder at the Galaxy Motel and the murders of Lynn Van Every and Reynolds were not random acts of violence.

Vball@postmedia.com
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