Bob Mackin
An Ontario man in custody in B.C. was granted full parole just over a year ago after serving time for weapons, drugs, assault and dangerous driving convictions.
Tyrell Evans, 36, appeared by video in North Vancouver Provincial Court on May 29, a week after he surrendered to West Vancouver Police Department (WVPD) at an $8.2 million King Georges Way mansion. He is accused of committing assault causing bodily harm, assault by choking and possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
Tyrell Evans (Toronto Police Service)
WVPD said officers responded to calls from area residents on May 21 about an injured woman in distress. Police found a suspect with a large knife in the short-term rental, which is advertised for $20,000 a month. Police negotiated the suspect’s surrender the next morning. Evans is being held at the federal, medium security Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford and has yet to retain a lawyer. His next court appearance is scheduled for June 6.
The April 4, 2023 decision by a Parole Board of Canada panel, obtained by theBreaker.news, described Evans as a “first time federal offender” who was serving a seven-year, four-month sentence stemming from an April 2017 fight at a Toronto nightclub and August 2017 flight from police.
In the first incident, Evans pulled a handgun from his waist, pointed it at the head of a man and pulled the trigger. He was on probation at the time and under a weapons prohibition.
“The gun did not discharge, and [he] tried to fire it again as the man fled,” the Parole Board decision said.
Four months later, police found his driver’s licence and DNA in a parked, stolen vehicle. Evans fled from police twice, in different vehicles, at high rates of speed. While driving the first vehicle, Evans collided with a police car. Police searched his home the next day and found Oxycodone pills and ammunition.
Police eventually nabbed Evans after a February 2018 call about a dangerous driver believed to be under the influence. They found a vehicle smashed into a median and caught up to Evans on foot. He was carrying two cell phones and large amount of cash. More than 2.5 kilograms of cocaine was found discarded nearby.
The judge who sentenced Evans also imposed a lifetime weapons prohibition, ordered him to provide a DNA sample and banned him from driving for three years.
West Vancouver Police outside a King Georges Way mansion on May 22, 2024 (Mackin)
The Parole Board decision said that Evans grew up in a broken home, his best friend was murdered when he was 16 and he dropped out of high school. Evans worked as a drywaller but trafficked in drugs “to live above [his] means.”
When he was released on day parole in July 2022, Evans got a job with a demolition company, reconnected with his family and signed up for college courses. He told the Parole Board hearing that he cut ties with former associates, no longer drinks alcohol, and is no longer motivated to engage in the drug subculture or criminal lifestyle. Instead, he was motivated to be a positive role model for his two sons.
Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) recommended full parole and seven special conditions: not to consume alcohol, seek or remain employed, do not enter drinking establishments, no contact with a certain person, report relationships, financial disclosure and a telecommunication restriction.
Parole Board members Alison Scott and Kathleen Gowanlock ultimately ruled in favour of full parole for Evans, with the special conditions. They concluded that he did not present an undue risk to society.
“The board finds your pattern of offending and your index offence to be aggravating factors. To your credit, you have accepted responsibility, completed programming to reduce your risk and address your needs with noted improvements and you have demonstrated positive progress while in the community on day parole,” the panel’s decision said. “You appear to have used your day parole for its intended purpose and the board concludes that you have demonstrated that your risk can be managed on a more expanded form of release.”
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