By EverythingGP staff

Court

Court update: Stay of proceedings application denied, High Level human trafficking charges dismissed, preliminary hearing set in Atikameg manslaughter case

Apr 29, 2021 | 5:30 AM

An application for a stay of proceedings in a Grande Prairie drug case because the pandemic delayed a trial has been denied in Grade Prairie Court of Queen’s Bench.

The argument for made for this was that postponing the trial for Matthew Roberti, Tara Cartwright, and Alexander Kalashnikoff from May of last year to May of this year was an unreasonable delay.

It was postponed because all jury trials were suspended when the pandemic first hit.

The Supreme Court of Canada in a 2016 ruling called Jordan set the limit to go to trial at 30 months for Queen’s Bench cases.

A written ruling from Justice N.F. Dilts says that while the total delay from the time the case first went to court in 2018 to May of this year is 40 months, subtracting the 12 month and 13-day delay caused by the pandemic takes the total time back below the Jordan standard. The defence argued that only part, not all, of the delay was caused by the pandemic.

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The trial for the three, plus co-accused Kenneth Erskine, is still scheduled for May 18 to 21.

They were charged after the organized crime and gang team with ALERT Grande Prairie searched a city home January 22, 2018. Police seized cocaine GHB, other drugs, weapons, and cash.

Human trafficking charges dismissed in High Level court

Alberta Justice says all the charges against a La Crete man charged after in an alleged human trafficking case have been dismissed in High Level court.

The man had been facing one count of trafficking a person under 18 plus two counts each of possession of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.

RCMP had started an investigation in May of 2020 after peace officers pulled over a vehicle in High Level. One of the two adults in the vehicle was arrested while the other and a youth were taken to hospital. They were later released.

The first adult was released on conditions that included no contact with the youth, but on May 29 the youth was found to be in the first adult’s custody.

A court-ordered publication ban prohibits releasing any information that would give away the youth’s identity.

Preliminary hearing set in Atikameg death

Alberta Justice says a preliminary hearing will be held March 3 and 4, 2022 for an Atikameg man facing charges that include manslaughter.

Darcy Lane Joseph Weesemat was charged after the October 20, 2019 death of 35-year-old Christopher Lyle Cunningham also of Atikameg.

Cunningham was found dead along a road in Atikameg on October 20, 2019.

Weesemat is also facing a charge of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.