N.L. police chartered $91K flight for accused killer banned from flying commercial
CBC
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary chartered a private flight to get accused murderer Sheldon Hibbs back to St. John's from Calgary in March, according to documents obtained by CBC News. The force said he had been banned from flying commercial.
Hibbs, 27, was arrested in Calgary on March 11 on a Canada-wide warrant for second-degree murder in the death of Michael King, 68. King's body was discovered on a trail between Waterford Valley High School and Holbrook Avenue in the west end of St. John's on May 30, 2021.
Documents obtained through an access-to-information request show the RNC was scrambling to bring Hibbs back to Newfoundland after two of its officers went to Alberta to do so.
At one point the force even considered paying for a WestJet Boeing 737 at a cost of over $130,000.
"In regards to chartering an aircraft, even if we'd be able to accommodate on such notice, it's extremely expensive, therefore we'd recommend contacting the RCMP as they may have aircraft available which would be better suited for this type of transport," wrote a WestJet representative.
The police replied that the need for transportation was urgent.
"The male has been charged with murder. We understand that it may be expensive to charter, but the time frame for the RCMP plane does not work for us given time constraints for ensuring a prompt court appearance for the male. So we are currently looking at all available options," responded Const. Jamie Carroll.
The RNC requested multiple quotes for private flights and sent them to the provincial government for approval, emails show.
The provincial government and RNC eventually chose Gander-based EVAS Air to do the charter at a cost of $91,885.
In an emailed statement, an RNC spokesperson said the police were forced to look at other options after an incident that took place during their first attempt at getting Hibbs back to St. John's.
"As a result of an event during the first attempt by RNC officers to transport Hibbs to RNC jurisdiction, Hibbs was banned from commercially operated flights," wrote RNC Const. James Cadigan.
Cadigan said he could not elaborate on what happened during the first attempt at transferring Hibbs as the case is before the courts.
In a statement, Air Canada said it has "zero tolerance policies for any sort of disruption, including disruptive behaviour" for which the airline says it has "well-prescribed procedures" to work with local authorities.
RCMP Alberta spokesperson Logan Fraser confirmed the RNC did request their help after Hibbs was taken off the flight because he was "unruly."