Killer’s previous crime should have set off alarm bells

Opinion

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This article was published 06/11/2017 (2605 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Nicholas Bell-Wright played the justice system for a fool.

Appearing before a judge in the summer of 2015, Bell-Wright was contrite as he answered to a violent attack on an intellectually disabled teen he claimed was just an isolated incident and not a sign of things to come.

“I just apologize for what I did. That’s all, your honour,” the self-styled rapper, who dubbed himself “Kush Montana”, concluded during a sentencing hearing in which his lawyer painted him an otherwise solid young man with no prior criminal record, a talented basketball player and musician who wanted to finish his Grade 12 after being laid off his job with Telesolutions International, a Winnipeg call centre.

It worked. Bell-Wright walked away that day with a suspended sentence and probation that required him to take anger-management counselling. A proverbial slap on the wrist.

In reality, the crime that brought Bell-Wright to court should have set off alarm bells.

He admitted to pulling a 16-year-old boy off a bicycle and repeatedly punching him in the face and abdomen, telling the victim, “If I ever see you in this area again, I’m going to cut your head off.”

The bloody incident happened in the field outside Chief Peguis Junior High and River East Collegiate schools. The victim had apparently been talking with a 12-year-old girl, Bell-Wright’s niece. There was no suggestion of anything improper, but Bell-Wright didn’t like it and took it out on the victim, who suffered cuts, scarring and a black eye.

The Crown dropped a more serious charge of assault causing bodily harm in exchange for the guilty plea to simple assault. This was largely based on the fact the victim wasn’t able to identify Bell-Wright as his attacker when looking at a police mug shot lineup, court was told.

“We don’t permit people to go around and grab kids and teach them some kind of street justice,” provincial court Judge Margaret Wiebe told Bell-Wright at the time. “This was a very deliberate and hurtful assault. What’s aggravating here is that you are a 21-year-old man going after a 16-year-old kid.”

The message clearly didn’t register with Bell-Wright, who took it upon himself once again to dish out his own warped sense of street justice less than a year later to another teen who dared cross his path: Cooper Nemeth, a popular 17-year-old River East student and hockey player whose disappearance and death shocked Winnipeg.

It turns out Bell-Wright fooled everyone again — this time, by hiding the fact Cooper was dead, while hundreds of people spread out across the city for a desperate search that lasted a weekend.

The extra pain and anguish he caused, while loved ones held out hope Cooper might still be alive, can’t be measured. But it shouldn’t be surprising coming from a man who portrays himself through social media as leading a gangster-style lifestyle. One rap song he recorded was titled Murder Scene.

As the Free Press reported exclusively just days after the killing — and was confirmed Tuesday during a surprise guilty plea by Bell-Wright — the murder scene occurred in the accused’s car shortly after he left a North Kildonan house party with Cooper.

Bell-Wright was angry at Cooper over their mutual roles in the drug trade. Bell-Wright was a familiar player, while Cooper was rather new to the scene. He had been selling Xanax pills to friends and acquaintances to earn some extra cash on the side. That business ended up costing him his life.

It’s yet another tragic example of how the nasty drug business can cut deep and impact families in every corner of the city, regardless of their status. Good parents, bad parents, rich parents, poor parents have all experienced this kind of loss.

Bell-Wright claimed he could help set up a deal for Cooper, then shot him twice at close range as they sat in his 1997 Cadillac DeVille. He then spent hours trying to cover his tracks, including cleaning his vehicle.

Sources previously told the Free Press Bell-Wright kept Cooper’s body hidden for days in a shed near his house.

He had been the subject of intense police scrutiny; many witnesses placed him as the last one to see Cooper alive.

Bell-Wright was brought in for questioning and held for several hours before being released. The day before Cooper’s body was found, police executed a search warrant at his home and towed his vehicle away.

He apparently panicked, believing police were closing in. He moved Cooper’s body to a waste bin in the neighbourhood. The homeowner heard a commotion outside and came out to make the grisly discovery.

At that point, police obtained a warrant for Bell-Wright’s arrest. Sources told the Free Press a bulletin was issued to officers suggesting the accused may be armed with a handgun.

He was found early the next morning inside a stolen van. Bell-Wright was without shoes and socks, according to sources.

The sentencing, scheduled for January, should reveal even more details. The only issue for the judge will be length of parole eligibility for Bell-Wright, who faces a mandatory life sentence.

Whether it is raised from the minimum of 10 years remains to be seen. The fact Bell-Wright entered a guilty plea without the need for a lengthy, costly trial will likely be viewed as a mitigating factor.

Regardless of the sentence, the damage is already done. Family and friends will forever grieve a young life lost. And the vicious drug cycle which claimed Cooper continues to spin.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg