ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Arrested last Friday after he was found with a handgun and ammunition in a vehicle, Lyndon Butler was released from custody Thursday morning.
Butler, 29, was granted bail on a $5,000 cash deposit and a number of strict conditions to await his next scheduled court appearance on Dec. 12. Butler has been ordered to check in daily at RNC headquarters, abide by a 7 p.m. curfew, and reside with a friend acting as a surety. He is banned from owning a cellphone, tablet or other electronic form of communication as well as any weapon, and has been ordered to stay away from cannabis and illegal drugs.
Butler was represented at his bail hearing by defence lawyer Jerome Kennedy. At the request of prosecutor Jessica Gallant, Judge James Walsh implemented a publication ban on the evidence presented at the hearing, along with his reasons for granting Butler’s release.
Butler, who cried at points during the hearing, is facing eight firearms charges. He was arrested in Conception Bay South around 9:30 last Friday night, when police were doing their annual Thanksgiving long weekend road checkpoints.
At the time, he was bound by a 10-year firearms ban, given to him nearly 10 years ago after he was convicted of weapons and drugs charges. Since then, Butler was charged alongside Philip Pynn with second-degree murder for the July 2011 shooting death of 20-year-old Nick Winsor. Butler, Pynn and Winsor were alleged to have gone to the Portugal Cove Road home is another man with the intent to rob him of a necklace. After a confrontation in the man’s garage, Winsor was shot once in the neck.
After a six-week trial, a jury found Butler not guilty and convicted Pynn of manslaughter.
Twitter: @tara_bradbury
