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Wednesday, 18 October 2017 16:56

Assault charges deferred until November 20

First Appearances

Mallory Kehoe, 27, is charged with theft of a vehicle and four counts of driving while under suspension. She will return on November 20th and is seeking legal aide. She is currently in custody in Ottawa on other charges that will be dealt with before the November Sharbot Lake date.

Marion Vanalstine, 59, Sherri Wylie, 44, and Devin Kennedy, 27 are each facing a charge of production of an illegal substance. They will return on November 20.

Ongoing

The lawyer for Jeremy Pershaw, 34, is facing a charge of operating a vehicle while disqualified from doing so, a charge of dangerous operation of a vehicle, and two charges of failing to comply with court ordered conditions. His lawyer appeared before the court, but said he has not been able to contact his client since the last court date in September.
“I’m hesitant to act without consulting my client. I do believe this is headed for trial, but I really can’t say” he said.
The matter was deferred until November 20.

Alison Potter, 40, had her charges of possession of an illegal substance, production of an illegal substance, and un-authorised possession of a firearm deferred once again, to November 20. It is still anticipated that her co-accused in the matter will have his case resolved in Kingston, and the charges against would then be withdrawn. The matter has been on the books for 14 months.

Sue Vinkle, 42, is charged with obstructing a peace officer. She will return on November 20.

Christopher Leger, 53, is facing 5 counts of assault. His lawyer, John Norris, said through Duty Counsel, who was acting as agent, that he is still reviewing the disclosure package and asked for the case to be deferred until November 20. Judge Griffen said, “when you are communicating with Mr. Norris that I would like to set a trial date on November 20.”

Peace Bond – A charge of Assault against Reinhold Zuther, 62, has been resolved by means of a Peace Bond wherein he has committed to keeping the peace and avoiding contact with certain individuals. The charge has been withdrawn.

Withdrawals – A charge of theft against John Texeira, 65, has been withdrawn, as has a charge of mischief against Kevin Camilleri, 53.

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY
Wednesday, 17 May 2017 12:57

Light day in court

It was a quick day at Sharbot Lake criminal court, only stretching out to half an hour in order to give an absent accused a chance to show up, which did not happen.

Withdrawn – A charge of possession of an illegal substance against Thomas Quinn was withdrawn at the request of the crown.

Ongoing – James Godin, 55, charged on the 4th of March with 3 counts of driving while under suspension, a count of driving without proper vehicle plates, a count of driving without insurance, and a count of operating a vehicle with blood alcohol over 80 mg/100 ml of blood, and a new charge of operating a vehicle while disqualified, had all his matters put over until June 19th.

Allison Potter, 40, is facing a charges of production and possession of marijuana, and an unauthorised possession of a firearm charge. She has obtained a legal aide certificate and will return on June 19th with her lawyer in tow.

Finally, Chloe Lallemand-LeBrasseur, 22, charged with possession of an illegal substance, which Judge Griffin determined was 0.58 grams of marijuana, was not in court to face her charge.

The judge said he was reluctant to issue an arrest warrant under the circumstances.

“In a year’s time this substance may not be illegal,” he said. Lallemand-Brasseaur was searched while she was a passenger in a car passing though the township. A warrant with discretion was served and as long as the accused shows up in court on June 19th, there will be no consequences for missing this court date.

“If she is not here then, and the federal crowns seeks a warrant without discretion, I will have no choice but to issue one,” Griffin said.

Published in CENTRAL FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 21 December 2016 13:02

Frontier Justice on a cold winter’s day

Sharbot Lake Criminal Court has always had a reputation for informality as compared to the courts in Kingston and Perth, which is something that court officials tend to talk about during the breaks. Court proceedings held in the township hall, where the Festival of Trees has just been cleaned up and the decorations for the New Year’s dance are next to come, do tend to be more informal than the proceedings in 200 year old Victorian era courthouses.

At this month’s court, however, things were more informal than ever, since the lawyer assigned for the role of Duty Counsel did not show up, leaving Judge Griffen to work directly with accused parties to determine if their matters could be resolved on the spot or should be put over to the January date. At one point, the clerk of the court was not even in place, leaving Griffen to fumble through the papers on the clerk’s desk.

“Now, I don’t even have clerk, Griffen said as he leaned over from his desk to the clerk’s desk to find some paperwork.

“I’m here, trying to get a hold of duty counsel,” the clerk said, his head popping out from behind the false wall behind the desks.

After a short break, Griffen returned and said Duty Counsel was not coming.

Still, the wheels of justice did not fall off in Sharbot Lake this week. Two of the five matters before the court were resolved, and the rest are progressing.

Convictions
Donald Kellar, 52, pleaded guilty to a charge of un-authorized possession of a firearm. Kellar was in a truck driving on Westgate Road, near Hwy. 7, west of Arden, on November 17, when the truck was stopped by Constable Lefaivre because the driver of the truck did not have his seat belt fastened correctly. There were a number of rifles in the vehicle as the occupants were hunting. While the rest of the occupants had Possession/Acquisition Licenses (PAL) for their rifles, Mr. Kellar did not have one for the Remington Woodmaster 742 that was located near where he was sitting.

The gun is the property of his son and was in the care of his wife when he took it to go hunting.

Judge Griffen gave him a 12-month probation order, and asked how his wife had reacted.

“I have six months house arrest, dishes, floor sweeping, you don’t want to know the rest, your honour,” he said.

Judge Griffen did not impose a prohibition on owning firearms on Mr. Kellar, although he said the conviction might make it difficult for him to get one.

Brandon Gill, 27, was unlikely to receive legal aide and pleaded guilty on his first appearance on a charge of assault. The details of the case are covered by a publication ban. He received a 12-month probation order.

First Appearance
Nicholas Holmes, 41, is facing six charges related to impaired driving and driving without permits and while disqualified. He is seeking legal aide and will return on January 16th.

Ongoing
Wayne Kimberly, 61, is charged with failing to comply with probation, failure or refusal to provide a breath sample, operating a vehicle while impaired by alcohol, and public mischief. He has paid part of a retainer to a lawyer from Kingston, and received an adjournment until February 13 to pay the rest of the retainer and will then appear with counsel to plead to the charges or set a date for trial.

Alison Potter, 39, charged with production of marijuana with intent to sell, possession of an illegal substance, an un-authorized possession of a firearm. She was not in court, and a warrant with discretion was issued. She will need to appear in court on January 16th to avoid arrest.

Published in CENTRAL FRONTENAC
With the participation of the Government of Canada