Second-degree murder suspect still awaiting Legal Aid lawyer
By Shurtz, Delon on May 27, 2020.
Delon Shurtz
lethbridge herald
Two men charged with the city’s second murder this year continue to have their court cases adjourned while one of the men waits for Legal Aid to appoint him a lawyer.
Lethbridge lawyer Claudia Connolly said Tuesday during a brief hearing in provincial court her client, Justin Robert Adel White Cow, has repeatedly contacted Legal Aid, but she still hasn’t been retained. In the meantime, White Cow and co-accused Jason Paul James Crane Chief, who has hired Lethbridge lawyer Ingrid Hess, remain in custody while they wait to have a bail hearing.
Both men appeared separately by closed-circuit TV from the Lethbridge Correctional Centre, where they have been remanded since their arrest earlier this month. They return to court June 18, ostensibly for bail hearings.
Crane Chief, 27, was arrested May 1, four days after police responded to a report of an injured man at an apartment building in the 1200 block of 4 Avenue South. Police and EMS found the body of a 43-year-old man inside one of the units. White Cow, 33, was arrested on May 5.
During the evening of April 26 the victim had been inside his apartment socializing with acquaintances when a fight broke out. When a friend arrived at the victim’s apartment the following day the man was unresponsive and his friend called for help.
Police have confirmed a weapon was used during the fight and drugs were being consumed at the social gathering.
The murder is the city’s second this year.
The first was in February when a 35-year-old man was shot at a residence in the 200 block of University Drive West. Police said the shooting was targeted, and the individuals involved were arguing over drugs when the victim was shot and killed.
Mohamud Omar Dhiblawe, 29, of Toronto, was charged with second-degree murder. He was arrested in Regina in March.
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