A 23-year-old man accused of carrying a loaded handgun on a Burnaby SkyTrain last year has been denied bail after violating the conditions of his last release.
Mateo Zanatta was charged with multiple firearms offence after Metro Vancouver Transit Police found a Glock 19 semi-automatic pistol with a 15-round overcapacity magazine and six live rounds in his backpack in March 2023, according to information presented at a bail hearing in Vancouver provincial court Monday.
He also faces fentanyl trafficking charges for an incident in New Westminster in November 2022.
He had been released in January with court orders to live at a drug treatment facility until his case is resolved.
His uncle, a retired psychologist and Kwantlen Polytechnic University criminology professor, had agreed to act as a surety, committing to pay $20,000 if Zanatta breached his bail conditions.
In March, however, Zanatta was kicked out of the rehab centre after he tested positive for THC.
He first called his bail supervisor and suggested another recovery house, but the bail supervisor rejected the suggestion, saying it wasn't an approved facility.
Zanatta then went AWOL for two-and-a-half weeks until a warrant was issued for his arrest, and he turned himself in on March 21.
His uncle, meanwhile, applied to be relieved of his obligation as Zanatta's surety a day before he was taken back into custody, according to Crown prosecutor Parveen Bachra.
At Monday's bail hearing, defence lawyer Sam Williams asked for Zanatta to be released again to the same recovery house and with his uncle again acting as surety.
But Bachra raised concerns.
"Yes, there's a surety here, but what is really the impact of that surety if he can just be notified that there's been a breach and render the surety before Mr. Zanatta turns himself in?" Bachra said.
The Crown opposed Zanatta's release, saying he was a danger to the public and there was a significant risk he would commit more crimes.
Bachra noted the seriousness of his alleged offences.
"It's Crown's respectful submission that releasing on the same surety to the same recovery house would not address the concerns that Crown has with respect to the safety of the public," she said.
But Williams argued Zanatta could be released again without posing an undue risk.
He also noted the Crown might not be left with much of a case when it comes to the firearms charges, because B.C. Provincial Court Judge Patricia Bond ruled in March that Transit Police's detention and search of Zanatta had been illegal and the officers had violated his right to a lawyer.
Williams said evidence, including the handgun itself, could be thrown out after Zanatta's lawyers argue the point at a hearing next week.
While that may happen, Judge John Milne ruled Monday that Zanatta should not be released on the plan proposed by his lawyer.
"I'm not going to release him because he poses a significant risk to the public," Milne said.
Milne noted Zanatta’s "significant" record of violence and the fact he is accused of carrying a loaded firearm on public transit.
Zanatta's next court appearance is scheduled for next Friday.
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