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The Hunger Games

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Submitted By babyroman
Words 783
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Section: NEWS, Pg. A1

KITCHENER

A teenager was cleared in a controversial manslaughter case Friday after authorities concluded he stabbed a drunken gang member in self-defence during an armed robbery.

Zachary Schultz, then 18, was charged after the body of John James, 19, was found just before midnight May 12 on a walkway near Cameron Heights Collegiate in Kitchener.

When he was released on bail just one day later, it sparked public protests by relatives of James and members of the local South Sudanese community. Some alleged racism was influencing the case because James was black and Schultz is white.

The manslaughter charge was withdrawn in Kitchener court by Crown prosecutor Mary Ellen Cullen, who gave a detailed summary of the events and reasons for the determination that Schultz was protecting himself and a friend. She said Schultz, a college student with no criminal record, met a teenage girl after work and they went to talk in a park behind the high school.

They were sitting on a hill.

James appeared, seemingly drunk, came up to them and asked for the time.

Cullen said James walked away, but returned a short time later, grabbed the girl by the neck and forcefully stuck the barrel of a handgun - later determined to be a metal starter's pistol - in her mouth.

James demanded money and property. Schultz and the girl gave him $10, a cellphone and an iPod.

With the gun still in the girl's mouth, James asked a lewd sexual question, demanded more property and threatened to kill her if they didn't hand it over.

James was counting backwards from 10, Cullen said, when Schultz reached into his backpack - ostensibly to get more items - and pulled out a pocket knife instead.

James was still counting down when Schultz stabbed him once in the ribs, puncturing his left lung and heart.

Schultz ran away and James backed off, but still had the replica handgun pointed at the girl's head.

Cullen said the slight teen then came back to get the girl, grabbed his backpack and they ran away together.

James walked away, but collapsed nearby.

He was discovered dead a short time later by people out for a walk.

The gun was found beside him, and the cash and other stolen items were in the pocket of his pants.

Video surveillance footage from the school showed him with the gun in his hand. Tests detected the girl's DNA on its barrel.

Schultz "acted in self-defence and his acts were proportionate to the perceived harm from Mr. James," Cullen said.

James, who had a fresh gang tattoo, had spent the day drinking and smoking marijuana with friends, who saw him with the realistic-looking gun.

He was about six feet, two inches tall and weighed 170 pounds. Schultz, who planned to start college this month, is 5-11 and about 140 pounds.

At the time of the boisterous protests, relatives acknowledged that James - an immigrant from South Sudan whose formal name was Jany James Ruach - had been in trouble with the law.

They also said authorities told them early in the investigation that the stabbing looked like a case of self-defence, a possibility they discounted.

Relatives met with Cullen on Thursday night for an explanation of the outcome of the investigation and they were in court when the charge against Schultz was dropped.

Martha James, an older sister, said they still don't accept it.

"That's what they are saying, but they have no evidence about it. We're not very happy at all," she said Friday.

"I don't believe he tried to rob them," she said. "Do you think my brother would give up his life for $10? Really?"

William Chuol, a pastor at Hope Lutheran Church in Kitchener, helped mobilize the local South Sudanese community to press for justice and ensure a thorough police investigation.

But after attending the court hearing, he declined to comment on the outcome or say whether he is satisfied with how the case was handled by authorities.

Schultz or his relatives couldn't be reached for comment.

After the stabbing, Schultz and the girl - whose identity is protected by a court order - ran to a nearby bar for help.

They took a cab to the girl's home, where her parents called the police after she told them what happened. Schultz was "in shock and unable to speak."

Cullen said their account of the incident in the park "remained consistent" throughout the police investigation.

The knife used to stab James was never found despite extensive searches.

bcaldwell@therecord.com

Copyright (c) 2012 Waterloo Region Record. All Rights Reserved.

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Source: Record, The (Kitchener/Cambridge/Waterloo, ON), Sep 22, 2012
Item: Q4K063480686112

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