‘No one cares about us’

Loved ones of Lucas Richard Solomon Polchies say his killer’s plea to lesser offence is yet another example of how criminal justice system treats indigenous victims with disrespect

Noah Polchies is scared for her family’s safety and feels let down by the justice system after her brother’s killer was permitted to plead guilty to manslaughter in his March 2023 shooting death Friday.

After re-electing to be tried in provincial court Friday, Joshua Kristopher Raines, 49, of Route 565 in Holmesville, was brought to Fredericton provincial court in the afternoon to resolve a serious criminal charge.

Noah Polchies, left, and Bilijk First Nation band councillor Keyaira Gruben tell reporters of their dismay and concerns over Polchies’ brother’s killer being permitted to plead guilty to manslaughter Friday. (Photo: Don MacPherson/The Fredericton Independent)

The RCMP’s major crime unit charged him in April 2023 with second-degree murder in the death the month before of Lucas Richard Solomon Polchies.

Solomon Polchies, 27, of Bilijk (Kingsclear) First Nation, was found at the side of the road in Lincoln with a gunshot wound in the early-morning hours of March 12, 2023. He succumbed to the wound in hospital a short time later.

Raines pleaded guilty Friday to the lesser, included offence of manslaughter in his death.