Column: Court drama, a victim’s emotional rollercoaster -

Do you remember my column from the July 13, 2023 edition of the Meridian Source? Well, I sure do.

The article recounted Chels waking in the middle of the night to find a masked man in our kitchen. The man took off, jumped off our balcony and disappeared into the night. The Lloydminter RCMP had 18-year-old Victor Mendez in custody a couple hours later. Mendez has called a Saskatchewan remand centre home since.

Over a year and a half later, and after changing his plea multiple times, Chels and I were scheduled to testify against Mendez in court last Thursday as he was sticking with his non-guilty plea.

The week leading up to court was stresssful. Chels and I had a two-hour court preperation meeting with Midwest Victim Services the Friday prior, and although we felt ready to face the man who broke into our condo, the days leading up to court were sleepless, especially for Chels.

We arrived at the Sask court house on Thursday morning to learn Mendez had changed his plea to guilty, meaning we didn’t have to be there. We didn’t have to relive the experience and continue to ride the emotional rollercoaster many victims of crime do.

The kicker was, the arresting officer found out about the plea change the Monday prior to trial. Having this information the same day the officer knew would have alleviated an incredible amount of stress and saved taxpayer dollars on Victim Service’s and the RCMP’s time.

Having said that, Chels and I are extremely grateful to Victim Services as well as members of the Lloydminster RCMP for admitting a mistake had been made and putting practises in place to prevent this from happening to others in the future.

We all know the justice system isn’t perfect, but having compassionate and caring people in your corner can make a huge difference.