Lawyer no-shows delay Coutts conspiracy case

By Delon Shurtz on June 16, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

One of four men accused of conspiring to kill RCMP officers during the protest near the Coutts border earlier this year had his court matters adjourned two days in a row when first his lawyer then the Crown prosecutors failed to attend court.
Anthony Olienick was scheduled to appear in Lethbridge provincial court Tuesday so the Crown could transfer his charges to the Court of Queen’s Bench. Although the Crown appeared in court virtually by Webex, and Olienick appeared in court by CCTV from the Lethbridge Correctional Centre, his lawyer, Alain Hepner of Calgary, was a no show.
The Lethbridge Crown prosecutor told court he tried but was unable to contact the lawyer, and the matter was adjourned for one day to allow time for the Crown prosecutor with Specialized Prosecutions to contact Hepner.
During Wednesday’s hearing Hepner had an agent appear for him, but the Crown never showed up. Lethbridge Crown Prosecutor Lisa Weich said she sent the Specialized Crown an email asking for instructions, but had not received a reply.
Rather than wait for the Crown to attend court, the matter was adjourned to June 22 and Weich said she would advise the Specialized Crown of the new date.
Olienick was denied bail last week in Court of Queen’s Bench, while co-accused Chris Carbert and Chrisopher Lysak had been remanded previously following their own bail hearings. A fourth accused, Jerry Morin, has yet to have a 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, Luke Berk, Jaclyne Martin, Joanne Person and Janx Zaremba were released shortly after their arrests, and the matters for all the accused, with the exception of Person and Zaremba, are scheduled to be in provincial court Friday. Person returns to court July 25 and Zaremba is set to stand trial on Dec. 5.
Person 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.
Mounties also charged James Edward Sowery, 36, from Flagstaff County southeast of Edmonton. He was charged with assault with a weapon and dangerous driving after a large commercial vehicle drove at an officer, forcing him to run out of the way to avoid being hit. Sowery pleaded not guilty in May and elected to be tried by a Court of Queen’s Bench judge and jury.

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