Real eState

Vancouver real estate agent makes surprise guilty plea in murder trial

Published

5 years ago

February 25, 2020

Tejwant Danjou startled his own lawyers when he admitted at the outset of what was to have been a three-week trial that he killed Rama Gauravarapu in a West Kelowna motel room

At the outset of what was to have been a three-week trial for second-degree murder, Tejwant Danjou pleaded guilty Tuesday to killing Rama Gauravarapu in a West Kelowna motel two years ago.

Kelowna Daily Courier

A surprise guilty plea was entered in a Kelowna courtroom Tuesday to a murder charge.

Tejwant Danjou startled his own lawyers when he admitted at the outset of what was to have been a three-week trial that he killed Rama Gauravarapu in a West Kelowna motel room.

“I’m guilty,” Danjou, a 70-year-old Vancouver real estate agent said when asked how he was pleading to the charge of second-degree murder.

Asked by Judge Allison Beames if he had consulted with his lawyer, Donna Turko, before entering the plea, Danjou responded: “I don’t need to speak to anybody. I’m guilty.”

Danjou said Crown counsel had offered him the mandatory minimum sentence for second-degree murder of 10 years before parole eligibility in exchange for a confession.

Beames asked Danjou if he fully understood the implications of the guilty plea. She also told him that, despite whatever deal the Crown might have offered him, it would be up to her to impose the sentence, which for second-degree murder means imprisonment for between 10 and 25 years before parole eligibility.

“I need to be sure that you know what you’re doing,” Beames told Danjou. “Do you understand that only I can make a determination as to what the appropriate sentence is?”

“Yes, m’lady,” responded Danjou, dressed in red prison clothes.

Given the surprising turn of events, a short recess was declared.

After proceedings resumed, Turko said she’d spoken with Danjou and confirmed his desire to plead guilty to second-degree murder.

“He’s very clear about it,” Turko told the judge.

Crown counsel Simone McCallum was also surprised by Danjou’s guilty plea: “This has come on the sudden, a little bit,” she said.

Proceedings will resume at 10 a.m. today, when it’s expected there will be a joint submission from Crown and defence on a statement of facts, describing events surrounding the murder.

Sentencing is expected on March 13.

Police were called to the Best Western Hotel Plus on Carrington Road in West Kelowna on July 22, 2018.

Inside one of the hotel rooms, they found Gauravarapu’s body. Police said Gauravarapu and Danjou, both from the Lower Mainland, were known to one another.

Danjou has been in custody since July 2018. After he was arrested and charged with murder, his licence to sell real estate was suspended by the Real Estate Council of B.C.

Gauravarapu had worked as a financial planner for a Royal Bank branch in Surrey.

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Real eState

Homelessness: Tiny home village to open next week in Halifax suburb

Published

2 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.

Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.

Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.

The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.

Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.

They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.

The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.

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Real eState

Here are some facts about British Columbia’s housing market

Published

3 weeks ago

October 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.

Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.

Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500

Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438

Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103

Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359

Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent

How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

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Real eState

B.C. voters face atmospheric river with heavy rain, high winds on election day

Published

3 weeks ago

October 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – Voters along the south coast of British Columbia who have not cast their ballots yet will have to contend with heavy rain and high winds from an incoming atmospheric river weather system on election day.

Environment Canada says the weather system will bring prolonged heavy rain to Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, Whistler and Vancouver Island starting Friday.

The agency says strong winds with gusts up to 80 kilometres an hour will also develop on Saturday — the day thousands are expected to go to the polls across B.C. — in parts of Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver.

Wednesday was the last day for advance voting, which started on Oct. 10.

More than 180,000 voters cast their votes Wednesday — the most ever on an advance voting day in B.C., beating the record set just days earlier on Oct. 10 of more than 170,000 votes.

Environment Canada says voters in the area of the atmospheric river can expect around 70 millimetres of precipitation generally and up to 100 millimetres along the coastal mountains, while parts of Vancouver Island could see as much as 200 millimetres of rainfall for the weekend.

An atmospheric river system in November 2021 created severe flooding and landslides that at one point severed most rail links between Vancouver’s port and the rest of Canada while inundating communities in the Fraser Valley and B.C. Interior.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

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