Deported dangerous offender argues charge that would keep him in U.S. jail too old

Caroline Wojtaszek, the district attorney for Niagara County, has opposed the recent parole board decision, noting the 47-year-old could be eligible for release in as little as two years and four months for his sexual abuse conviction.

She says if Shrubsall is convicted of jumping bail it could keep him in jail for at least an additional two years and four months, but says she must now deal with “absurd” delay arguments in a May 31 hearing.

Public defender Jenelle Faso Messer says she’s yet to see evidence Canada ever refused a 2001 request for Shrubsall’s extradition. She argues that after 19 years, defence witnesses are no longer available due to the failure to prosecute him sooner.

The prosecutor says Shrubsall’s arguments are weak, given that he is accused of fleeing his own trial in May 1996, leaving behind a suicide note before he disappeared into Canada.

She says American prosecutors did not initially know where he was, but they applied for his extradition after his arrest for a series of brutal crimes in Halifax.

Wojtaszek also says it was logical that Canada didn’t deport him for a U.S. trial at the time, as his crimes in Canada were extremely serious.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Deported dangerous offender argues charge that would keep him in U.S. jail too old

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