COVID-19 resulting in court adjournments

By Shurtz, Delon on March 25, 2020.

Delon Shurtz

lethbridge herald

Trials, preliminary hearings and other court matters are being adjourned almost en masse as the Ministry of Alberta Justice and Solicitor Justice reacts to the COVID-19 virus pandemic.

While pressing matters, such as bail hearings, may only get adjourned briefly, many other cases are being adjourned for 10 weeks or more to reduce social interaction as much as possible.

Numerous cases in Lethbridge provincial court and Court of Queen’s bench Monday were adjourned until June or later, including one matter in provincial court that was set for trial next month.

Fort Macleod RCMP officer Troy William Heystek was set to stand April 28-30 to one charge of assault stemming from an incident April 13, 2018 in the Village of Granum north of Fort Macleod.

RCMP reported an officer responded to a 911 call made from a home in the small community. After confirming the welfare of the resident of the home, the officer and the resident had a verbal exchange that escalated into a physical confrontation, in which the officer allegedly pushed and punched the resident.

The Crowsnest Pass RCMP detachment investigated the allegations and subsequently charged an officer.

Heystek has been re-assigned to an administrative role pending the outcome of his case, which returns to Fort Macleod provincial court June 3 to schedule a new trial date.

An attempted murder case was also adjourned until later in the summer.

Kyle Crow Chief, who was charged last year with attempted murder and released on bail in January, had his matter adjourned to June 1.

Crow Chief, 29, is accused of shooting another man on the Blood Reserve Dec. 7.

Police reported that at about 2:25 a.m. a 41-year-old man was shot, sustaining life-threatening injuries, and had to be rushed to a Calgary hospital.

Crow Chief was arrested two days later in Edmonton, but released Jan. 17 on $20,000 no-cash bail, half of which is surety promised by his Edmonton cousin should Crow Chief breach any of his release conditions.

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