There's an anger and a fury that builds up inside

"Inside, one man sat surrounded by guns, thousands of rounds of ammunition, an armoured van and all the materials needed to build a bomb. The kidnapping plot he’d attempted to undertake the day before had failed."

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I spent almost two years in courtrooms following along with this case. The kidnapping of the city's lawyer at the hands of a former councillor had occurred before I arrived in Oshawa, but for obvious reasons, the case was notorious. 

For the majority of the case, Robert Lutczyk represented himself, and sought a variety of avenues to have his case dismissed. However, he eventually was appointed a lawyer and pled guilty to the charges. Up until that point, everything I'd taken down in multiple notebooks throughout the multitude of court dates was protected under a publication ban. 

When the guilty plea was entered and the sentencing complete, that ban was lifted. 

This is the story that came out of it. 

The Ontario Community Newspaper Association (OCNA) named it the best feature story of 2016. 

Published in the March 2, 2016 edition of The Oshawa Express.