The man accused of a 2017 armed kidnapping in Okanagan Falls has been acquitted of all 10 charges against him, marking the end of one of the longest and bizarre trials in recent memory.
Afshin Maleki Ighani, 46, had his head down in the prisoner’s box as Justice Nitya Iyer delivered her verdict Friday afternoon in Penticton Court.
The judge pointed to “numerous frailties” in the testimony, or lack thereof, of the Crown’s *two key witnesses (Jodie Walker and Christopher Gliege) ……the alleged victims in the case.
Credits: Castanet above – Penticton herald below
After one year of firing lawyers, self-representation and numerous other delays, one of the South Okanagan’s most notorious criminals has been acquitted of all charges.
Ighani who pled not guilty to 10 criminal offences including two counts of kidnapping using a firearm and assault with a weapon, was acquitted of all charges Friday in B.C. Supreme Court due to inconsistencies in statements by the case’s *two alleged victims.
“I accept that it is certainly possible that Mr. Ighani committed some or all of the offences for which he is charged, (but) the standard of proof in criminal law is proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” Judge Nita Iyer told the court.
Ighani was accused of having taken *Jodie Walker and Christopher Gliege captive on April 22, 2017, after they agreed to give him a ride from Okanagan Falls to the Lower Mainland in exchange for $400.
At one point during the trip, Ighani was alleged to have ordered the vehicle be driven up a logging road between Manning Park and Princeton.
Back story
Ighani came to Canada from Iran – he married, he had two children and his family lived in Oliver. He has been before the court in previous times and was even ordered deported to his place of birth.
But to no avail – meaning courts in Canada did not want to send him back to Iran.
In a separate story – Ighani was connected to an altercation in Oliver where the victim was shot in the hand but died of an overdose later and could not testify in court.
Ighani has been in jail a long time and when a final sentence is passed he may be eligible for immediate release.
Depends on a conviction, a sentence and the number of days served.