A B.C. man who has pleaded guilty to a Richmond kidnapping fired his lawyer June 14 moments before a B.C. Supreme Court judge was to begin a sentencing hearing.
Harman Singh Parmar was one of three men charged variously with kidnapping, forcible confinement, assault causing bodily harm and using a firearm in the commission of an offence, Vancouver Police Department (VPD) said after their arrests and charging in October 2021.
He pleaded guilty to kidnapping Nov. 14.
Const. Tania Visintin said at the time that property crime detectives had earlier begun investigating a group believed to be responsible for a series of armed home invasions and residential break-ins throughout Metro Vancouver.
It was on Sept. 8, 2021, Visintin said, that four suspects kidnapped the victim from a vehicle at gunpoint in Richmond, B.C.
“The victim suffered significant, but non-life threatening injures after being assaulted and restrained,” Visintin said. “The victim was rescued by VPD officers and the four suspects were taken into custody following a brief pursuit.”
On June 14, before Justice Douglas Thompson came into court, Parmar asked defence lawyer Conor Muldoon if he could address the judge.
When Thompson entered, Muldoon first said he and his client were having some differences before ceding the floor to Parmar.
“We just had a misunderstanding and I would just like to appoint a new lawyer at this time,” Parmar told the court.
Both Crown and defence lawyers said they were ready to proceed with a joint submission for sentence.
The court heard the mandatory minimum sentence is four years in prison.
Parmar was appearing by video from Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre.
He would receive credit of time and a half for each day in custody prior to sentencing.
Parmar asked for a month to get a new lawyer.
Thompson set July 10 as the date to set a new sentencing hearing time.
