Bail denied for accused in Coutts conspiracy case
By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on June 10, 2022.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com
A southern Alberta man accused of conspiring with three other men to kill RCMP officers during the protest at the Coutts border in January and February has been denied bail.
Justice Vaughan Hartigan refused to release Anthony Olienick from remand custody following the conclusion of his bail hearing Thursday in Lethbridge Court of Queen’s Bench. He is the third man to be detained after having a bail hearing; co-accused Chris Carbert and Chrisopher Lysak were previously denied bail, while a fourth accused, Jerry Morin, has yet to have his bail hearing.
All four men are, by direct indictment, to stand trial in Court of Queen’s Bench. Direct indictment, which was previously filed by the Crown, bypasses the defence option for a preliminary hearing.
The accused were charged in February with conspiracy to commit murder, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, and mischief by impeding the lawful use of property. A person found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder is liable to imprisonment for life.
The charges stem from alleged offences in the Village of Coutts during the border protest, when police seized numerous long guns, handguns, a machete, ammunition, high capacity ammo magazines and body armour.
Nine other individuals were also arrested in relation to the protest and charged with mischief by impeding the lawful use of property and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. Ursula Allred, Johnson Chichow Law, Evan Colenutt, Justin Martin, Eastin Stewart Oler, Joanne Person, Janx Zaremba, Luke Berk, and Jaclyne Martin, were released shortly after their arrests, and the matters for all the accused, with the exception of Zaremba, are scheduled to be in provincial court today. Zaremba is set to stand trial on Dec. 5.
Person, who is self-represented, also faces one charge of dangerous driving, stemming from an incident Feb. 1 when a pickup truck drove through the blockade and headed toward oncoming traffic before becoming involved in a head-on collision.
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[…] The four men facing the most serious allegations are charged with the unusual and problematic crime of “conspiracy to commit the murder” of RCMP officers. Are there political factors behind the decision to create a murder trial of Trucker supporters based on an event where no murders took place? See this. […]