Trial date for pair still not set
By Nick Kuhl on May 18, 2019.
Delon Shurtz
Lethbridge Herald
A man and woman who pleaded not guilty two weeks ago to numerous
criminal offences relating to stolen mail and personal documents have
yet to set a date for their trial.
The lawyers for Kyle Anthony Blakely and Tammy Judy Kotowski were
expected to schedule a trial Friday during a brief appearance in
Lethbridge provincial court, but the matter was simply adjourned.
Court was told the lawyers had intended to meet with the judge in a
pre-trial conference before Friday’s hearing, but the conference was
never held.
A PTC provides an informal setting for all parties and the judge to
identify facts that are in dispute or might be agreed upon, clarify
the issues between the parties, or even reach a resolution by way of
voluntary agreement.
Lawyers hope to arrange a PTC before the next court hearing May 31,
when they may finally be able to set a trial date.
Blakely and Kotowski each pleaded not guilty May 3 to multiple charges
of mail theft, possession of credit cards and identity cards belonging
to other people, fraud under $5,000 and possession of stolen property
under and over $5,000. Blakely also pleaded not guilty to charges of
housebreaking, forgery, using a forged document, identity fraud,
attempted false pretenses, obstructing peace officer and mischief.
Blakely faces a total of 90 charges, which include two charges under
the Highway Traffic Act, while Kotowski faces 52 charges, including
three under the Traffic Safety Act.
A police investigation determined more than 30 victims had mail stolen
or documents taken from their vehicles in November and December of
last year. The stolen mail included tax assessments, pay stubs,
cheques, credit card statements, personal letters and pre-authorized
credit letters.
The property taken from vehicles consisted mostly of insurance and
registration documents, and wallets. In addition, personal details
were gathered from social media accounts.
Names, birth dates, social insurance numbers, addresses, bank account
and credit card information were obtained using the stolen documents,
police reported. Online applications were subsequently made and
suspects were able to obtain a vehicle, guitar and loan using a
digitally altered driver’s licence and pay stub. In some cases the
stolen documents were traded for drugs.
Blakely, who appeared in court Friday by closed-circuit TV from the
Lethbridge Correctional Centre, was previously denied bail. Kotowski,
who is not in custody, was not required to attend court.
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