The judge in the Randy Hanoski arson trial says he needs more time to decide on a couple of pieces of key evidence.
Judge Ron Fabbro will now rule on September 26 at 2 p.m. on the admissibility of incriminating statements Hanoski allegedly made in the back seat of a police car, as well as a letter he’s believed to have mailed the night before Ainsworth’s Silver Ledge Hotel burned down.
Fabbro was originally set to deliver his verdict today.
The defence wants the statements excluded on the grounds they were not given voluntarily, and argues the letter should be thrown out because its seizure by police violated Hanoski’s privacy rights.
Hanoski, 54, has pled not guilty to one count of arson in the June 3, 2010 fire, which started in a trailer next to the hotel and spread.
Meanwhile, another high profile case returns to Nelson court tomorrow.
The defence in the Marvin Singleton case is expected to make its sentencing submissions.
Singleton, a former lawyer and Notre Dame university professor, was convicted of one count each of fraud and theft over $1,000.
In the late 1980s, Singleton handled the estate of John Alexander George, worth just over $1 million, and stole nearly half for his own pet projects, including a wild rice plantation and equipment for horse logging.
The Crown is calling for a three-to-six-year jail term.