A new trial is underway in Prince George for four men accused of kidnapping, confining and assaulting a man in a possible drug-related incident last year.
Michael Andrew Joseph Fitzgerald faces 19 charges and Francois Christiaan Meerholz, Dillan Meerholz and Craig Anthony Niedermayer each face 10 counts in relation to the April 15, 2012 incident.
The men are accused of kidnapping a man and holding him at a Ferndale property. The man, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, eventually escaped through a second-story window and fled to the nearby Ferndale Community Hall. There was a community meeting underway at the time and the man was able to call for help.
The first trial began in January, but was halted after nearly seven days of testimony when Provincial Court Judge Darrell O'Byrne fell ill. Judge Dan Weatherly is now hearing the case, which is in its early stages and has been taken up mostly by legal arguments.
