Crown seeks conviction in violent home invasion south of Calgary

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All the evidence in the trial of an Edmonton man points to one logical conclusion, a prosecutor said Tuesday — the accused committed a violent home invasion robbery on a rural property south of Calgary.

Crown lawyer Joe Mercier, in his final submissions to Justice Chris Rickards, said Armin Babic was all but caught red-handed following the crime at the home of Gavin McLachlin west of De Winton on the morning of Nov. 19, 2019.

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“Mr. Babic committed all the offenses he’s charged with,” Mercier told the Calgary Court of King’s Bench hearing, shortly after the accused not to call any evidence in his defense.

“The evidence from the beginning to the end all supports Mr. Babic worked alone, committed this crime and shortly thereafter was arrested.”

Mercier noted McLachlin and his sister, Heather Haddad, who was visiting the home at the time, were able to free themselves of restraints after being tied up by the bandit and quickly call police.

He said Mounties were quickly able to set up a corridor and within 20 to 30 minutes Babic was stopped driving a pickup truck matching the perpetrator’s vehicle on Macleod Trail heading into Calgary.

Mercier said the accused was arrested “a short distance away and a short time away.”

A search of the pickup after Babic’s arrest on an outstanding traffic warrant uncovered two handguns, rope similar to that used to restrain the victims, jewelry and a Rolex watch belonging to McLachlin and more than US$23,000 taken in the heist, the prosecutor said.

One of the handguns, a .22 caliber, matched a shell casing left at the scene when the robber fired a warning shot into McLachlin’s couch. A slug found in the couch was a .22.

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More count was DNA on the cuff of a jacket found in the truck matched the victim’s genetic profile, Mercier said.

“Mr. McLachlin had never met Mr. Babic before, had never seen Mr. Babic,” he said.

“How did Mr. McLachlin’s DNA gets on a jacket in Mr. Babic’s truck?”

McLachlin was held at gunpoint after an individual wearing a vest with “police” emblazoned on the front came to his home and demanded access to his safe before tying up the victims.

The bandit made off with the contents of the safe before McLachlin and his sister were able to untie themselves.

Before Mercier’s final submissions Babic, who is representing himself, argued to a directed acquittal on the premise there was no evidence for the judge to weigh.

He said officers should not have pulled him over because they were told by Haddad the perpetrator was East Indian or Middle Eastern with dark skin.

“I’m not East Indian or Middle Eastern. I’m Caucasian, white,” Babic said, before Rickards dismissed his application.

The judge will hear Babic’s trial arguments on Wednesday.

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X: @KMartinCourts

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