The man charged in relation to the recent Amber Alert in North Battleford has made his second court appearance.
Johnathan Ryann Gunville walked into prisoner’s box, looked around gallery and stretched.
Lawyers said they need more time to review some of the hundreds of hours of surveillance video from more than 200 businesses and to prepare for a bail hearing. Gunville was remanded and his next appearance is set for Oct. 9.
Gunville allegedly stole a vehicle with a girl inside on Sept 16. while one of her parents was in a strip mall in the city. The girl was found safe in North Battleford around 6:45 a.m. Sept. 17 nearly 14 hours after the SUV was stolen. She was still in the vehicle, which had been abandoned in a bush area about two kilometres away from the strip mall.
“Johnny is not an evil monster,” defence lawyer Bill Archer said. “He’s a troubled kid, intellectually challenged and in some respects you could characterize the case as there were two kids in that car.”
If it was Gunville who stole the car, he didn’t deliberately take the child, Archer said.
After Gunville’s first appearance on Monday, Archer said he received numerous calls, several from Gunville’s previous teachers saying they felt he was “let down.”
Gunville was living at The Lighthouse shelter in North Battleford before being arrested, Archer said.
Gunville's mother, Tammy Lavallee, told reporters it was important to come to court so her son knows he has parents who care about him.
Gunville faces 18 charges in relation to the Sept. 16 Amber Alert and two vehicle thefts that happened in the days following.
The charges include abduction, unlawful confinement, abandoning a child, theft, evading police, driving with disqualified, failing to comply with a probation order and other changes.
