That happened in BC this year but they were teenage punks
A 16-year-old boy has been charged with second-degree murder after a gas station attendant was dragged to death underneath a car.
The teen, who cannot be named publicly because of his age, made a court appearance for the first time on Wednesday afternoon. He is a permanent ward of the Ministry of Children and Families. However, members of his family showed up in court.
Gas station, Maple Ridge, B.C. early Tuesday morning.
The boy's lawyer, Greg Rideout, told reporters that the youth is upset and distressed and that this is a tragedy for the accused, as well as for the man who was killed.
FROM MARCH 8, 2005: Arrests made in death of B.C. gas attendant
"This has been a distressing matter for he and his family, as it is ... for the friends and the family of the victim," he said prior to his client's court appearance.
Grant De Patie,24, was dragged under a car for more than seven kilometres through Maple Ridge early Tuesday morning.
It's believed that he was run down while trying to prevent a driver from getting away without paying for $12.30 worth of gasoline. The 16-year-old is alleged to be the driver of that car, a stolen 1990 Chrysler LeBaron.
Ridge Meadows RCMP arrested him and a 15-year-old boy from Pitt Meadows later on Tuesday, but the second teen has since been released.
The accused will be back in court on March 30 to set a date for a bail hearing.
A flower memorial continues to grow at the Esso station, which remains closed out of respect for De Patie.
Barj Dhahan, owner of the station, said employees have been offered grief counselling.
"There's a lot of shock," Dhahan told the Canadian Press. "So we're coping collectively."
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/natio...es_050308.html