Fatal crash victim’s mother, Tories turn spotlight on justice system gaps, leniency

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This article was published 09/09/2025 (208 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Tough questions were being directed at Manitoba’s justice system after a repeat offender charged in a fatal highway crash walked away from his judge-ordered stay at an unsecured facility over the weekend and couldn’t be found until his arrest Tuesday afternoon.

And the province’s justice minister, who heralded the NDP government’s decision to resume the use of ankle-bracelet monitors in some cases of pre-trial release while speaking with reporters at the legislature, refused to say whether one was used in this case, and if not, why not.

Not long after issuing a warrant for his arrest, James Lorne Hilton, 25, of Portage la Prairie, was back in custody “without incident,” RCMP said in a release.

Hilton, who is accused of causing a three-vehicle crash in a stolen truck while impaired last January that took the life of 28-year-old Kellie Verwey, was ordered to remain at an inpatient addiction treatment centre in St. Norbert until his trial on charges that include dangerous driving causing death, impaired driving causing death, failing to remain at the scene of a fatal accident, possession of a stolen vehicle and possession of methamphetamine.

Earlier Tuesday, Verwey’s anguished mother relayed her frustrations with the justice system at a news conference at the legislature organized by the Progressive Conservative caucus. She said she had been notified Monday by police victim services that Hilton left the facility sometime after his arrival Friday.

Meechelle Best, who met with Justice Minister Matt Wiebe after the news conference, said Tuesday evening that she was relieved to know Hilton was back in custody.

“I’m thankful that I now am clear-headed that he will not reoffend in the immediacy,” said the grieving-mother-turned justice advocate.

She expressed concerns about the arrest warrant not being issued until Tuesday afternoon, days after Hilton bolted.

“That’s not acceptable in any way for any case,” she said, adding people working in the justice system don’t have the resources needed to close gaps.

She pointed to recent reports about a lack of senior Crown prosecutors and positions that haven’t been filled.

An RCMP spokesperson said the arrest warrant couldn’t be issued until it had been approved by a justice.

Manitoba RCMP have said Hilton was impaired and driving a truck stolen from Arborg on Jan. 15 when he crossed over the centre line on Highway 26 near Portage. A vehicle travelling in the opposite direction swerved to avoid a collision and crashed into the vehicle driven by Verwey, who was behind Hilton, police said.

Mounties said Hilton fled the scene and was later arrested. He was wanted on an arrest warrant at the time of the crash, owing to several bail breaches from other charges.

The St. Norbert facility is sometimes used as an alternative to jail for people whose criminal matters have been remanded or, in some cases, where custody sentences are served.

Best was in the courtroom July 7 when provincial court Judge Jean McBride approved the move to the facility on the second day of Hilton’s bail hearing in Portage. The reasons for her decision, and information presented by Crown prosecutor Clifford Anderson and defence lawyer Brett Gladstone, are subject to a publication ban and cannot be reported.

“We went through the bail hearing and put our faith in the justice system that this would be the best outcome for Mr. Hilton to be able to attend a treatment centre and possibly do better and be a better person,” Best said.

Hilton’s bail included several conditions, including that he must live at the treatment facility and obey staff instructions. He must abstain from alcohol and drugs, comply with a curfew and cannot be in the driver’s seat of a vehicle, among other things.

If Hilton left for any reason, he was to immediately turn himself in to police, McBride ruled.

His next court appearance had been scheduled for Tuesday.

“This is an outrage. James Hilton was released to an unsecured treatment facility while he awaited trial,” Tory Leader Obby Khan said at the morning news conference. “The court knew he had a long history of violating his release conditions, yet Hilton was sent to an unsecured treatment facility where he was ordered by a judge not to leave that facility, but that’s exactly what he did.”

“Despite his repeated failures to comply with conditions of his release, James Hilton was not outfitted with an ankle monitor,” said Portage la Prairie MLA and deputy PC leader Jeff Bereza. “It’s outrageous to think that a repeat offender who is known to skip bail and break the conditions of his release wouldn’t be ordered to wear an ankle monitor so police could track his whereabouts if he disappeared again.”

Best said victim services told her that Hilton was not wearing an ankle monitor.

She said the judiciary shouldn’t grant bail when there’s evidence of drug use because the public is at risk.

“We know that there is never a de-escalation because you get bail,” she said. “There is an escalation once you get bail.”

Justice Minister Matt Wiebe told reporters Tuesday that the NDP government brought back ankle monitors after the Tories got rid of them when they were in power. Wiebe said they’ve since doubled the number of monitoring devices to 200 and, as of Aug. 28, 128 were in use.

“It is an effective tool and it’s something that can keep people safe,” Wiebe said. “We’ve made it clear that we want to see them used on people who are at risk of breaching their bail conditions,” he said, refusing to comment on Hilton’s release conditions.

“It’s at the discretion of the judiciary to decide who gets these — that would be for them to answer, exactly, in this case, why it was used or why it wasn’t used.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca