Court update: Murder trial and sentencing of a former AHS official set for this week, charges dismissed in firearms and stolen property arrest

The trial had started in February, then resumed in April before being adjourned again because of scheduling conflicts and because it had taken longer than expected.

Former AHS official back in court

A former AHS official convicted of sexual assault and sexual interference in February is due back in court this week.

Submissions are to be heard Monday, then the sentence handed down Tuesday.

The accused was convicted in February in a judge alone trial, with the judge saying at the time that the evidence given by the underage victim and their parents was credible and reliable.

The second charge was stayed because of a legal principle that says an accused cannot be convicted of both charges.

We are not using the name of the former official because of a court-ordered publication ban that prohibits the use of any information that could identify the victim.

Charges dismissed firearms, stolen property case

Alberta Justice says all charges have been dismissed in a firearms and stolen property investigation that originated in the Bezanson area.

Dennis Ford had been facing 23 charges and was due to stand trial May 24.

The Crown prosecutor’s office says in an email to EverythingGP that the charges were dismissed after a review of all the available evidence led prosecutors to believe there was no reasonable likelihood of a conviction.

Ford was charged after an arrest on July 30, 2021.

RCMP said at the time that a vehicle that had fled from police earlier had made a U-turn in Bezanson after seeing Mounties on patrol.

Police tried to conduct a traffic stop but the driver took off.

That led police to a rural property where a suspect was arrested. Mounties believed the vehicle had been stolen in Fairview. A search of the property turned up ammunition and several weapons, one of them a firearm that police also believed was stolen.

by EverythingGP staff