An Ontario court justice of the peace has recused himself from the criminal case of a former Oshawa city councillor because they are former colleagues.
Robert Lutczyk, who is charged in the abduction of Oshawa city solicitor David Potts, appeared for a bail hearing before Justice of the Peace Jack Wiley on Thursday, but his case was put over to early next week because of the potential conflict of interest.
Lutczyk and Wiley worked together when they were members of Oshawa city council.
Before Wiley recused himself from the case, he adjourned the bail hearing to Monday with the consent of the Crown and Lutczyk’s lawyer, meaning the 45 year old will spend the weekend in custody on kidnapping and other charges.
Outside court, Coun. Bruce Wood, also a former colleague, talked about seeing Lutczyk for the first time since his arrest.
Wood said the pair made eye contact and nodded in the courtroom, where Lutczyk acknowledged his father and mother, who broke down in tears as she listened to the proceedings, and his daughter Tiffany, who travelled from Quebec to see her father in court.
“My sense from that is that he’s moving forward,” Wood told reporters.
Later, Tiffany Lutczyk said she hasn’t been able to speak to her father, as of Thursday afternoon.
“Just seeing him makes me feel a lot better,” she told reporters.
Lutczyk wore a black jacket and blue jeans and was in shackles when he appeared in court. He winked at his father, who waved at him from the gallery
The former politician is accused of abducting Oshawa city solicitor David Potts at gunpoint late Monday, leading to a 27-hour standoff that ended peacefully early Wednesday morning.
Police said Potts escaped as police officers confronted his captor at gunpoint outside a Whitby auto repair shop, where the standoff took place.
In an exclusive interview with CTV News on Wednesday, Potts said he was “grateful” for the work of Durham and York regional police officers for “creating the circumstances in which (he) was ultimately able to escape.”
Police said a dispute over “business matters” led to the abduction.
During the standoff, Wood and others spoke to the barricaded suspect via telephone to urge him to surrender without incident.
Wood recounted those “trying” phone calls as he spoke to reporters Thursday.
He said the goal was to keep the suspect focused on a peaceful resolution and “looking towards the future”
With files from CP24's Katie Simpson
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