Homeless man with multiple aliases charged with murder in Kamloops

Eric Bradley Charlie

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March 07, 2016 - 9:49 AM

KAMLOOPS - A local man with many aliases is charged with second-degree murder after an alleged altercation outside a Kamloops restaurant in January.

Eric Bradley Charlie, 32, was arrested by Kamloops RCMP shortly after 8 a.m. on March 6 and has been charged with murder in the death of John Southwell, 30, according to court documents and Kamloops RCMP. Charlie is in custody and will return to court on March 14.

Police became involved after a man was seriously assaulted outside the Hatsuki Sushi restaurant in Kamloops’ North Shore on Jan. 22. In a media conference this afternoon, March 7, Supt. Brad Mueller confirmed Southwell died from several stab wounds. He said the victim and Charlie were known to each other and the incident occured following an argument.

Until today, police had not released the names of the victim or suspect in the murder, which happened six weeks ago. Mueller says the decision to withold the information follows a recent policy developed by RCMP brass after a national review and says the detachment was bound by policy and legislation, primarily federal privacy laws.

Charlie was recently sentenced for contempt of court after he identified himself to police with an alias. After he was arrested, he was subsequently charged and sentenced under the false name James Rocky Whitford, which bore no criminal record.

During the sentencing hearing, Charlie's lawyer argued more jail time wouldn’t help curb his client's criminal behaviour. The court recognized Charlie was homeless, addicted to drugs and accepted his lawyer's plan to have him return to his home community of Burns Lake to live with his mother so he could rehabilitate.

Justice Mark McEwan agreed with the release plan to put Charlie on probation in mid-January, but shortly after Charlie's release from jail Mueller said he was taken into custody for an offence unrelated to the murder charge. After coordination with Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre, Charlie was charged with murder before his scheduled release.

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To contact a reporter for this story, email Glynn Brothen at gbrothen@infonews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

— This story was updated at 2:03 p.m., Monday, March 7, 2016 to say the accused remains in custody and adds his next court date.

—This story was updated at 3:44 p.m., Monday, March 7, 2016 to include information obtained at a RCMP media conference.