Drug dealer who once avoided murder conviction after dumping a body in Fraser River charged with trafficking
Richard MacInnes was never convicted of killing Michael Scullion despite considerable circumstantial evidence, indignity to human remains
"Calculated, callous and cruel," is how BC Supreme Court Justice James Williams described the actions of Richard Drew MacInnes who dumped the body of Michael Scullion in the Fraser River.
Scullion was ejected the Old Harrison Crossroads Inn in Agassiz after an altercation with MacInnes one night in April 2008. There were no witnesses to the supposed fight but MacInnes was seen dragging a body to his pickup truck.
He drove to South Delta, bought a construction bag, a hand cart, and ratchet straps at Home Depot. More than 24 hours after the killing, MacInnes dumped Scullion’s body into the river with the help of a friend.
He was initially charged with second-degree murder, but with no body, no witnesses and little physical evidence, the Crown could not prove the homicide. All Crown could prove was one count of causing an indignity to human remains, and McInnes was sentenced to 18 months in jail.
"I hope one day I will be forgiven as I try to become a more mature and responsible person," MacInnes said while addressing members of his family who were in the courtroom at his sentencing hearing on Jan. 27, 2017.
Members of Scullion's family applauded that day as the 48-year-old was led away in handcuffs, Scullion's brother yelling a profanity.
Fast forward to 2025, and apparently he did not become more mature and responsible.
MacInnes is out of custody but is due in court on Friday (April 11, 2025) for a pre-trial conference facing four counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking and two firearms charges connected to offences listed as Dec. 15, 2022. He was arrested after being the subject of RCMP surveillance for two months.
He was released on $20,000 bail on Jan. 3, 2025.
The criminal case is not the end of MacInnes's troubles. He may also lose his house, his vehicle, and nearly $18,000 in cash, as B.C.’s Director of Civil Forfeiture filed a notice of civil claim against him in B.C. Supreme Court in Victoria on Feb. 24, 2025.
Specifically, the government is seeking to seize his house on Rosepark Place in Rosedale, his 2020 Jeep Wrangler, $17,822 in Canadian cash and small amounts of U.S. and Mexican currency. The house is valued at $964,000 in 2025, according to BC Assessment.
The civil forfeiture director seeks the property, the vehicle, and the money as it is alleged to have been used by MacInnes to engage in “unlawful activities that caused or were likely to cause serious bodily harm.”
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Paul J. Henderson
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