The B.C. Supreme Court has declared a mistrial in the case of Chilliwack’s David Lee Roth imposter convicted of the ongoing sexual interference of an underage girl.
Following his conviction after a 20-day trial in Chilliwack last summer, David Kuntz-Angel’s lawyer questioned the mental faculties of Justice Neill Brown who presided over the trial and handed down the guilty verdict.
• READ MORE: Chilliwack’s David Lee Roth impersonator applies for a mistrial in underage sex case
Prior to the sentencing hearing in the fall, the case was reassigned to Justice Dev Dley out of Kamloops pursuant to a section of the criminal code that states this can happen if a judge “dies or is for any reason unable to continue.”
Brown’s medical status is unclear, but at a hearing in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster on Jan. 22, 2020, the mistrial was declared and dates for a new trial were to be scheduled.
“[O]bservations throughout the course of the trial have raised, in my view, legitimate concerns about the mental faculties of Justice Brown and that they may have been impaired and they may have impaired his ability to preside over the trial,” Kuntz-Angel’s lawyer Chantal Paquette said at what was supposed to be his sentencing hearing on Nov. 18, 2019, three months after the conviction.
Crown counsel Michelle Wray called the application for a mistrial “very uncommon.” She said Crown had not made similar observations during the trial about Brown’s mental faculties, and Crown opposed the request for defence to access personal, medical information about the judge.
“I have some concerns this is an appeal masquerading as a mistrial application,” Wray said.
Kuntz-Angel faced 12 charges in total during the trial that involved his grooming the complainant from the age of eight to 19 when she complained to police. Justice Brown acquitted him of sexual exploitation, sexual assault, assault causing bodily harm, and one count of procuring. But he convicted Kuntz-Angel of the most serious charges.
Going by David Kuntz-Angel in the court system, the 54-year-old has too many aliases to list, not least of which is David Lee Roth, the former lead singer of American rock band Van Halen, whom he has pretended to be in numerous situations over the last 20 years from Ontario to Chilliwack.
Given a mistrial has now been declared, the entire proceedings need to be commenced again unless Crown decides to drop the charges based on the public interest, the mental faculties of the victim, and the time Kuntz-Angel has already served in pre-trial custody.
• READ MORE: Chilliwack’s David Lee Roth pretender convicted of sexual interference of underage girl
• READ MORE: Chilliwack man wanted for sex crimes dating back to 2006
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