Judge grants bail to suspect in fatal shooting on Sask. farm

A judge has granted $10,000 bail to the man accused of fatally shooting a First Nations man on a farm near Biggar, Sask.

Gerald Stanley, 54, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of 22-year-old Colten Boushie on Aug. 9.

The decision comes a day after Stanley made two appearances – first to plead not guilty at North Battleford Provincial Court, the other for a bail hearing at the Battleford Court of Queen’s Bench.

All evidence presented at the hearing is subject to a publication ban.

Justice N.G. Gabrielson reserved his decision Thursday, saying he would release it a written statement, which he did Friday.

Stanley is subject to electronic monitoring and must submit to a probation officer. He is required to relinquish all firearms and stay within a four-mile radius of a certain address.

Stanley must not make contact with any member of Colten Boushie’s family and cannot travel within a 20-mile radius of the Red Pheasant First Nation, except under emergency circumstances.

The 54-year-old cannot travel outside the province or change his name without written permission.

Hundreds of people rallied outside both of Stanley’s appearances Thursday, with groups of people showing support for the Boushie family at courthouses in Saskatoon and Regina.

Boushie was killed Aug. 9 after the vehicle he was in drove onto a farm in the rural municipality of Glenside, west of Saskatoon.

A cousin, who was one of four other people in the car, has said they were heading home to the Red Pheasant First Nation after an afternoon of swimming when they got a flat tire and were looking for help.

Stanley’s relatives issued a statement through his lawyer Thursday expressing condolences to the Boushie family, saying they would not comment publicly for now.

“While the circumstances of the incident are not as simple as some media reports have portrayed, the Stanley family will reserve comment until completion of the criminal process,” the statement said.

“Although the rampant speculation and misinformation is frustrating, it is not the place for, or reasonable to expect, the Stanley family to correct the public record.”

Racial tensions flared after Boushie’s death. Some comments on social media sites have been anti-First Nation, while others have supported vigilante justice against the suspect.

The family concluded that it hopes everyone will reserve judgment until the facts of the matter are established.

– With files from The Canadian Press