The Medicine Hat Police major crimes unit investigates a homicide at the corner of Mill Street and Smelter Avenue in this November 2017 file photo.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
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The Alberta Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by a Medicine Hat man convicted of extortion and murder, stating it had no merit and “the evidence pointing to his guilt on both counts is overwhelming.”
Robert S. Hoefman, 61, was convicted of the crimes after a jury trial in March 2021 found he chose South Flats resident James Satre randomly and killed him as part of a plan to prove he was serious in his demands that a Medicine Hat businessman pay a $1-million ransom to avoid more bloodshed.
He was sentenced to life in prison with no eligibility for parole for 25 years on the charge of first-degree murder, and five years concurrent on the extortion charge.
An appeal was filed by Hoefman in late 2022 and heard Jan. 13 this year, where the self-represented man argued the trial judge erred on several points of admitting evidence, and reiterating his position at trial that police targeted him for no apparent reason.
A three-justice panel rejected those claims in a decision published July 4.
“In our opinion, the appellant is unable to show any basis upon which we should consider new issues or to establish that his rights were violated,” wrote Justices Bruce McDonald, Jo’Anne Strekaf and Anne Kirker in their unanimous decision.
Lawyers for Alberta Justice successfully argued that a 220-page document from Hoefman did not conform to standards set to the admission of new evidence in appeal cases.
In oral arguments, Hoefman claimed several events described at trial did not happen, and that his rights were violated during the police investigation of the crimes that took place in October and November 2017.
Hoefman claims he was illegally detained for questioning near the site of the ransom drop – an interaction that lasted two minutes after a police surveillance unit saw Huffman poke at a duffle bag that was supposed to contain the payoff money.
Justice Dallas Miller ruled that did not constitute being taken into custody.
Hoefman’s attorney’s challenged some evidence at a voir dire hearing prior to the trial, but abandoned others.
Among those things at issue was the fact police obtained a list of unit owners in Hoefman’s condo building from the building manager, rather than with a search warrant.
As well, security camera footage (also provided) showed a figure running past one of the building’s doors with a long poll moments before a security camera recorded a long poll used by a person out of view to fix a ransom note to the door of the extortion target’s nearby business.
Hoefman’s lawyer’s initially stated his privacy rights may have been violated as cameras were pointed to view through glass doors to capture anyone walking by.
A search of the residents’ keyfob information from the entrances and exits, also provided by the building manager, showed Hoeffman’s fob was used at a nearby door at about that time.
Police also found clothes containing Hoefman’s and the victim’s DNA in a common area of the building, as well as Hoefman’s DNA on several of the ransom letters sent to the business owner, police and the Medicine Hat News.
“Even when new arguments are entertained, consideration must be based upon the evidence on record,” the decision reads. “In our opinion, the appellant is unable to show any basis upon which we should consider new issues or to establish that his rights were violated.”
The appeal was heard in Calgary. Hoefman is serving his sentence at a correctional facility in Fort Saskatchewan.
