New trial dates have been set for Clayton Eheler and Mathew Thiessen whose cocaine trafficking convictions were overturned by the B.C. Court of Appeal.
Eheler and Thiessen were caught with nine kilograms of cocaine they were processing in a Chilliwack condo on Nov. 18, 2014.
Eheler was convicted of cocaine trafficking and sentenced to more than eight years in prison in November 2019.
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Eheler and Thiessen appealed arguing they faced an unreasonable delay pursuant to section 11(b) of the Charter. They asked for the charges to be dropped or for a new trial because the judge did not release reasons for judgment until more than three years after the ruling.
“The appellants argue that a reasonable person would apprehend that the reasons constitute an after-the-fact justification for the result rather than an articulation of the reasoning that led to it,” Justice Gregory Fitch wrote on behalf of the three-member Court of Appeal.
The two submitted that therefore the reasons should be disregarded. And with no reasons, the charges should be dropped or a new trial ordered.
The court agreed with the argument in August 2021, and ordered a new trial.
In Chilliwack provincial court on Tuesday (March 1), dates were set for the new trial. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for April 22 after which the trial will begin.
Eheler has an extensive criminal record with more than 40 convictions dating back to 1995. He has connections to the Hells Angels and is a former associate of the Bacon brothers.
He remains out on bail.
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