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The two brothers charged in the tainted-water tragedy four years ago in Walkerton, Ont., won’t face a trial but will enter guilty pleas next month, the Crown confirmed Monday.
Details of plea agreement not released by Crown
OWEN SOUND, ONT.
The two brothers charged in the tainted-water tragedy four years ago in Walkerton, Ont., won’t face a trial but will enter guilty pleas next month, the Crown confirmed Monday.
Sources told The Canadian Press that in return for pleading guilty to public endangerment, the Crown would not proceed on two other charges against Stan and Frank Koebel.
A hearing to enter the brothers’ pleas was set for Nov. 30 in Walkerton, but no details of the apparent plea agreement were released.
In exchange for the guilty pleas, the Crown would not proceed on two other charges against the Koebels, who ran the town’s drinking-water system at the time the disaster struck, sources familiar with the proposed resolution said.
Crown prosecutor Dave Foulds offered few details about the resolution, saying it would be disrespectful to the court to do so.
“We worked very hard to understand what the issues were and what the evidence is, and then I think we’ve crafted a resolution that will be in the public interest,” he said.
“I think it’s not in the public interest to run a complex and difficult trial when there are positive alternatives to getting the case completed more expeditiously.”
The Koebels are charged with public endangerment, along with breach of trust and uttering forged documents. The maximum sentences on conviction range from two to 10 years.
“I think Stan Koebel should go to jail. He knew what he was doing,” said Donna Berberich, who saw five of her six children fall ill from drinking the contaminated water. “I think they should have pleaded guilty four years ago.”
But Berberich said she’s decided against presenting a victim impact statement to the judge prior to the Koebels’ sentencing.
“I can’t do it. It’s bringing back all the bad memories. I’ve had more tears and my nerves have been shattered. I’m just so angry,” she said.
Under the proposed plea bargain, court would hear an agreed statement of facts, but there has been no agreement on the sentence, the sources said. It’s expected the case will be heard and dealt with by early December.
Stan Koebel, 51, was manager and his brother was foreman of the public utilities commission in the midwestern Ontario town of 5,000 when the drinking water contamination in May 2000 sickened 2,500 people.
During a judicial inquiry into the outbreak, the brothers admitted to falsifying well logs, mislabelling water samples and allowing unchlorinated water to flow to the taps of unsuspecting town residents.
Stan Koebel’s lawyer, Bill Trudell, said his client didn’t want to put the town through an emotional re-examination of the water tragedy and is prepared to accept responsibility for his actions.
“Stan Koebel has always indicated to me that if it’s found there is evidence that points to his guilt in law, that he wants to resolve it without a trial,” Trudell said.
Allan Overgaard, a chiropractor from nearby Hanover, Ont., whose entire family was affected by E. coli, said he didn’t care one way or the other what happened to the Koebels.
“I think they are just scapegoats for a lot of other people. More people should have been charged.”
Provincial police charged the brothers in April 2003 after an intensive three-year investigation.
The inquiry ultimately blamed the tragedy on a series of factors.
The Canadian Press
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