Bradley Ryan Streiling became the target of a Mr. Big major crime undercover operation in November 2012 — about 41/2 years after the death of a toddler he is accused of killing, his B.C. Supreme Court trial heard Thursday.
Streiling, 30, is charged with the second-degree murder of Noah Cownden. The toddler, just three days short of his second birthday, died of head injuries after being rushed to hospital on April 9, 2008. At the time, Streiling was living with Noah’s mother, Meadow Dykes.
Noah’s death was originally deemed an accident. Five years later, on April 5, 2013, Streiling was arrested and charged with the boy’s death.
In court Thursday, the officer in charge of the RCMP undercover unit described his role as the cover person in the undercover operation. The officer’s identity is protected by a publication ban.
“I am the person who decides how things will go,” testified the officer, S.G. “I am like a puppeteer, pulling all the strings.”
Streiling was placed under surveillance to see whether he would be a suitable target for an undercover operation. Police — who learned Streiling was living on a boat, working as a security guard and had a motorcycle — decided he was.
The operation was more complicated, expensive and lengthy than other undercover operations because of the nature of the alleged crime, S.G. explained.
“Someone who hurts children will not brag about it. In the world of criminals and gangs, it’s not acceptable to hurt a kid,” he said.
From November 2012 to March 2013, Streiling was placed in staged scenarios with police officers posing as fictional members of a successful criminal organization. Slowly, Streiling became involved in small tasks such as bag drops and repossessing cars so he could see the criminal organization was successful, S.G. testified.
And truth was paramount to the fictional criminal organization.
If a gang member was honest and loyal, the head of the organization would do everything in his power to make sure the member didn’t get caught, the officer said. Lying was unacceptable.
S.G. found out Streiling was smarter than he thought, he testified. Streiling was also very outgoing and talkative. He wasn’t shy and appeared to feel comfortable even around tall, strong gang members, S.G. said.
In one scenario, an RCMP officer posed as an escort receiving a $200,000 loan from the criminal organization. One of the members remarked to Streiling that if she didn’t repay the loan, she and her child would be harmed.
Streiling told J.B., the undercover officer he was closest to, that he was not OK with hurting kids, S.G. testified.
Streiling was put in a scenario with a corrupt police officer in the Okanagan. The officer was supposed to be providing information to the organization. Streiling also travelled to the border between Quebec and Maine, where an undercover officer pretended to be a corrupt customs officer.
Streiling liked the fact that the criminal organization had connections in law enforcement, S.G. said.
The scenarios indicated Streiling was fine with the criminality and level of threats made by the organization, S.G. testified.
The operation took Streiling to Saskatchewan where he was promised $35,000 if he stayed with the organization.
On March 20, 2013, major crime detectives paid Streiling a visit intended to cause him some concern. They reminded him he was still a suspect in Noah’s death.
