The former president of the Campbell River-based Devil’s Army motorcycle club has been granted a mistrial in the first degree murder trial into the death of John Dillon Brown, 30.
Brown was shot in 2016 and his body was found in the trunk of a car north of Campbell River near Sayward on March 12, 2016. Richard Ernest Alexander, 65, was charged with first-degree murder on Oct. 26, 2018 after a collaborative investigation by the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia (CFSEU-BC) and Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit (VIIMCU) resulted in a raid of the Devil’s Army clubhouse in Campbell River.
Alexander’s trial began before a jury on April 19 in B.C. Supreme Court in Victoria. Alexander pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Alexander’s defence attorney Richard Neary applied for and was granted the mistrial on Wednesday, April 28. The reasons for granting the mistrial are protected by a publication ban so they won’t influence any future jury.
CTV Vancouver Island is reporting that Crown lawyers have indicated they plan to proceed with a new trial and Alexander now remains out on bail. A new trial date will have to be set.
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