Counsel for a Ditidaht man accused of first-degree murder appeared in a Nanaimo courtroom on April 15. They argued on behalf of 25-year-old father Derian Tate that he should be released on bail with strict conditions.
The Crown prosecutor argued against the application, but with a publication ban in place, few details can be released about the bail hearing.
But there was strong family representation at the courthouse as family members and supporters for both Tate and the victim, 23-year-old Patrick Charleson IV, were there.
According to initial police reports, it was about 7 a.m. on the morning of September 30, 2024, when the Lake Cowichan RCMP were summoned to a home at Nitinaht Lake on the Malachan Indian Reserve. There, they found Patrick Charleson IV, 23, deceased from a gunshot wound.
The community was placed on lockdown while the RCMP called in the Emergency Response Team. Several hours later, 24-year-old Derian Tate was arrested and later charged with first-degree murder.
The family of Charleson told Ha-Shilth-Sa that the two young men likely didn’t know each other personally.
At a Hesquiaht-led press conference held in Port Alberni on Oct. 17, 2024, it was disclosed that Patrick Charleson IV, who is known by family and friends as He-Man, was visiting his father, Patrick Charleson III, that weekend. He-Man lived at the Hesquiaht community of Hot Springs Cove.
Known for providing for family and community, He-Man was a fisherman and a hunter. He died just a few weeks before his 24th birthday, which would have been in December. He had close family ties connecting him to Hesquiaht and Ahousaht with close family members in Port Alberni. Elected Hesquiaht First Nation Chief Mariah Charleson has said that his death has impacted all Nuu-chah-nulth nations.
Tate has close familial ties in both the Ditidaht and Tseshaht communities, where each parent comes from.
Carrying framed photographs of his son, affectionately known as He-Man, Patrick Charleson III was joined by family members from both his home nation of Hesquiaht, and his Ditidaht family, at the bail hearing in Nanaimo.
According to Tina Joseph, common-law wife of Pat Charleson III, more than a dozen Ditidaht residents have approached their chief and council with a request: “a banishment of Derian, along with his girlfriend,” she wrote in an email to Ha-Shilth-Sa. She went on to say that they are awaiting a response from Ditidaht’s elected chief and council.
The BC Supreme Court Justice heard arguments from the provincial Crown Counsel Jodi Patsch and counsel for Derian Tate. He immediately imposed a publication ban, preventing publication of any evidence presented at the hearing.
A decision on whether or not bail will be granted is expected on April 16.
