Castanet gets busted

UPDATE 10:10 a.m.

Castanet content director Jon Manchester obviously has a lot of friends. Manchester was arrested Thursday morning as part of Cops for Kids' annual Jail and Bail fundraiser.

People have to raise a prescribed bail before they can be released back to the workplace.

Bail was originally set at $250. "The judge increased my bail to $300," said Manchester after finally being released.

He was arrested for butchering the Queen's English and, while the judge had a few words to say about our use of the language, Manchester says he stood his ground and objected to the court.

"I made a strong objection and contacted legal counsel," he said.

"Lawyer Tom Kennedy came through with a $100 donation."

Manchester also called Mayor Colin Basran to help bail him out, however, the mayor informed him he was in the process of being arrested as well.

"We made a jailhouse deal," he added. "What happens in jail, stays in jail."

A donation link is in the original story below.

Original story 9 a.m.

There's an old saying in the news business, report the news, don't make the news.

Jon Manchester found himself on the wrong side of that adage Thursday morning.

Castanet's director of content was whisked away in handcuffs by RCMP shortly after arriving at his desk.

Police involved in the arrest didn't provide much in the way of details, saying only he was being arrested for "butchering the Queen's English," and would be taken away to temporary jail cells set up at the Canadian Brewhouse on Pandosy Street.

Bail has been set at $250.

Manchester's arrest, and the arrest of dozens of others within the city today is part of an RCMP fundraiser for its Cops for Kids charity.

People are arrested and taken in front of a mock court where a term is set. The person is unable to leave until he, or she, has raised the required bail.

Funds raised through the event assist the Cops for Kids Foundation.

Since its inception in 2001, Cops for Kids has raised and donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to assist children who have suffered a medical, physical or traumatic crisis in their young lives.