Calgary businessman Talal Fouani on Thursday forgave the contract killer who murdered his wife in an ambush outside their southwest home. Read More
Noteworthy legal cases in Calgary and area from July 7 to 11, 2025
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Noteworthy legal cases in Calgary and area from July 7 to 11, 2025
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Calgary businessman Talal Fouani on Thursday forgave the contract killer who murdered his wife in an ambush outside their southwest home.
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But in his victim impact statement made a court exhibit, Fouani also noted justice must be done in the sentencing of Edmontonian Michael Tyrel Arnold, who was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder in the Aug. 18, 2022, fatal shooting of Nakita Baron and the attempted murder of the city man.
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Justice Nancy Carruthers found jurors must have determined Arnold was enlisted by an unknown party for unknown reasons to kill Fouani and Baron was fatally shot when the murderer realized she was in the passenger seat of her husband’s Bentley as he backed out of their driveway.
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“Mr. Arnold was engaged by a third party to shoot Mr. Fouani, although the identity of the third party and the motive have not been established,” Carruthers said.
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At the time Fouani, who has since pleaded guilty to money laundering, was facing charges related to a massive drug bust, but he testified he has no idea what was behind the deadly attack.
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In his victim impact statement filed as an exhibit before Carruthers, Fouani detailed the heartache of losing his wife in such a violent fashion.
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“My life was changed forever,” he wrote, of the attack on a sunny Saturday morning as he set out to drive to work.
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“I was shot and my wife Nakita was murdered beside me. In a single moment, everything I knew, everything I loved, was taken from me.”
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Along with victim impact statements from Fouani and Baron’s parents, Gwen and Udo, Carruthers heard sentencing submissions from defence lawyer Kathryn Quinlan and Crown prosecutor Hyatt Mograbee.
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Mograbee suggested the Court of King’s Bench judge should set Arnold’s parole ineligibility on the killer’s automatic life sentence of 20 years, while Quinlan suggested her client should only be ordered to serve a minimum 16 years.
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In his written statement to the court, Fouani said Arnold “deserves to go to jail,” but that he wasn’t seeking vengeance.
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“Actions have consequences and he must face them. But despite everything, I have made the choice to forgive,” he said.
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“Not because what happened was excusable, but because I refuse to let hatred consume me. Forgiveness does not mean forgetting. It does not mean ignoring the pain. It means I will not allow this tragedy to define the rest of my life.”
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In her victim impact statement, Gwen Baron, who did not attend the sentencing hearing, said she continues to endure the pain of losing her daughter.
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“I am still emotionally broken,” the mother wrote.
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“She continues to be on my mind and life is difficult and lonely without her.”
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And the mother was not as forgiving as her son-in-law when it came to Arnold.
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“I speak to you with anger and disgust for your brutal decision to take my daughter’s life,” she wrote, addressing the killer directly.
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“You have taken a beautiful person away from her family and friends and she should still be here today. You have turned my life upside down.”
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Carruthers will make a decision on Arnold’s sentence on Oct. 2.
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Despite rage at the loss of his mom, son of woman killed in Calgary crosswalk tells motorist he holds no animosity towards her
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Despite his rage over the sudden loss of his mother, a Calgary man told court on Thursday he does not have hatred for the motorist who ran her down in a southwest crosswalk.
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In a lengthy and eloquent victim impact statement he read in court, Jordan Rao detailed the heartache he has suffered since his mom was killed on Feb. 10, 2024, her 48th birthday.
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“I am angry at the injustice, the sheer brutality of losing her,” Rao said of his mom, Aigul Rao, who was struck and killed in a 162nd Avenue S.W. crosswalk that evening by driver Kurat Ayano.
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Ayano pleaded guilty to a Traffic Safety Act charge of failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk when she struck the city woman while turning left off 24th Street S.W.
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In his court statement, which left both Anayo and members of his own family wiping away tears, Jordan Rao said his life has been shattered.
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“It’s the pain that fills my heart, of knowing that no matter how loud I cry out, no matter how much I rage, the silence will always answer back,” he said.
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But that rage doesn’t extend to the driver who took his mom’s life, the 24-year-old said.
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Ayano admitted striking the victim as she walked northbound across 162nd Avenue while driving her daughter. After the collision she panicked and hit the gas instead of her break, crashing into a bus shelter and destroying it, Crown prosecutor Leah Staples told Justice Brandy Shaw.
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Rao, who on a court adjournment met with Ayano is a side room where he hugged her as she offered a tearful apology, addressed her directly in court.
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“In simple terms you have ruined my life. You have taken away the person who made everything in my world brighter,” he said, as Ayano sat in the prisoner’s box, her head bowed.
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“I do not wish upon you any struggle. I do not wish upon you any pain. I do not wish upon you to even feel the the way that I do, nor do I wish any of those that you love and hold so close to your heart to come close to the feelings.
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“But there is something I do want you to know. Your daughter is going to go through the rest of her life, and experience so many beautiful moments. She is going to have a graduation. She is going to get married. One day, she may even have children of her own,” he said.
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“And when you celebrate and feel all these wonderful and precious moments, I want you to think of me and my mom, and know that you took that away from me.”
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Shaw accepted a joint submission from Staples and defence counsel Adriano Iovinelli for a $1,200 fine plus a victim surcharge of $100.
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Retrial ordered for preacher who interrupted Calgary library drag reading event
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Calgary preacher Derek Reimer must stand trial a second time on charges related to him interrupting a drag reading event, a judge ruled Wednesday.
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Justice Nancy Carruthers found the judge who acquitted Reimer on charges relating to his anti-drag protest at a Reading with Royalty event at the Seton library, made legal errors in his decision.
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Justice Allan Fradsham found Reimer not guilty on Feb. 25, 2023, charges of mischief and causing a disturbance.
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The Calgary Court of Justice judge ruled the Crown had failed to prove he interfered with the lawful operation of the library and his shouting and insults hurled at drag performers fell short of causing a disturbance.
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Fradsham said the main element of Reimer’s disruptive conduct was when he was ejected from the event by some of the parents attending with their children.
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He found Reimer’s ejection wasn’t a reasonably foreseeable consequences of the preacher’s conduct, but Carruthers agreed with Crown prosecutor Kirsti Binns it was.
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The King’s Bench judge also said Fradsham focused on the impact of Reimer’s conduct on the library’s operation in determining the mischief charge instead of its effect on the participants in the event.
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Carruthers also rejected suggestions from defence lawyer Andrew MacKenzie that Reimer’s conduct could not be found to have crossed into unlawful behaviour because he left when informed he could be charged.
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“He persisted in his behaviour, he did not comply (with a request to leave) until police arrived,” she said.
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The appeal judge ordered Reimer’s case back to Court of Justice for a retrial on both charges.
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Since the ruling meant Reimer now has outstanding charges Carruthers also had to deal with the issue of his release, but Binns and MacKenzie agreed she could grant him bail on conditions less restrictive than those he is currently on under a conditional sentence order on charges related to another anti-drag protest.
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Reimer was released Tuesday after spending two months behind bars after his May 8, arrest for preaching on the steps out the Calgary Courts Centre in violation of his house arrest.
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Justice Brandy Shaw rejected suggestions Reimer was complying with his conditional sentence, which requires him to remain under house arrest, because an exception allowed him to attend court.
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But Shaw found that exception didn’t extend to him preaching for close to an hour on two separate occasions before entering the courthouse.
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A date for Reimer’s retrial will likely be set July 31, when it is back in Court of Justice.
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Preacher violated conditional sentence order by sermonizing on courthouse steps, judge rules
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Anti-drag protester Derek Reimer twice breached a condition of his community-based sentence by preaching to his flock on the Calgary Courts Centre steps, a judge ruled Tuesday.
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Justice Brandy Shaw said Reimer’s decision to speak to his followers in April and May while attending court for scheduled appearances breached the house arrest condition of his sentence.
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And the Calgary Court of Justice judge denied an application by Reimer’s lawyer, Andrew MacKenzie, that the law forcing those accused of breaches to prove their innocence violated his client’s Charter rights.
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Shaw agreed with Crown lawyer Matt Dalidowicz a conditional sentence order breach hearing wasn’t the same as a criminal prosecution, which requires the accused’s guilt to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
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“Guilt or innocence is not the core of the issue before the court on a CSO breach hearing, the offender has already been found guilty of a criminal offence,” Shaw said in denying MacKenzie’s Charter challenge.
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The judge found Reimer’s conduct in stopping to speak to supporters using a microphone and being livestreamed for more than 50 minutes on two occasions was not permitted under his conditional sentence, which allows court attendance as an exception.
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Reimer was handed a 12-month CSO with conditions including house arrest followed by two years’ probation last Dec. 23, by Justice Karen Molle for criminally harassing a library manager while protesting an upcoming Reading with Royalty event where drag performers read stories to children.
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Crown prosecutor Steven Johnston, who made submissions on what sanction should be placed on Reimer for the breaches, suggested his community term should be collapsed and he be forced to serve the balance behind bars.
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“He’s given his chance, if I can call it that, by Justice Molle and it does not last long,” Johnston said.
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But MacKenzie argued the two months Reimer had already served at the Calgary Remand Centre since his arrest on May 8, for the two breaches, would be a sufficient sanction.
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The lawyer noted Reimer wasn’t convicted for expressing his opinion.
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“The contents (of his speeches) didn’t land him in custody,” MacKenzie said.
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But Johnston noted Molle also found Reimer guilty of breaching conditions of previous bail releases while protesting drag events, so he has a history of ignoring court-ordered conditions.
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“This is a situation where Mr. Reimer had already been found guilty … of pretty similar behaviour,” he said.
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Shaw ultimately decided Reimer could return to the community immediately, finding the two months he has already served is an adequate sanction.
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