Lobster dealer released from custody in southwest N.S. extortion case
A lobster dealer from southwest Nova Scotia, Eric David Thibault, who was accused of multiple counts of intimidation, has been released from custody pending trial after a hearing in provincial court. Thibault, 65 years old, had been in custody since early February when he, along with his son Zacharie David Thibault and another man, were accused of trying to extort $10,000 from a former fisherman near Saulnierville, N.S.
The hearing took place in Annapolis Royal provincial court, where Judge Chris Manning made the decision to release both Thibault and his son. The details of the hearing and the reasons cited by the judge are banned from publication. The Crown had sought to keep the pair in custody before their trial and to have their bail revoked on earlier charges related to their arrests in December in another alleged intimidation case.
However, Manning refused to revoke bail and released the Thibaults on the same release conditions as December, with the addition of a new order that they not contact or go near the complainant in the most recent case. Kevin Eric Langford, the third man charged in the case, was denied bail earlier this month.
The charges against the three men include threatening to shoot up the alleged victim’s home, burn it down, kill his dogs, as well as extortion and intimidation. The RCMP have alleged that Eric Thibault organized for Zacharie Thibault and Langford to go to the complainant’s home.
Eric Thibault has several pending criminal cases, including charges of intimidation and witness intimidation laid over the last year. Both Eric Thibault and his son are scheduled to return to court on March 31 for further proceedings.
