Assault trial vacated until later in the year
By Shurtz, Delon on May 28, 2020.
Delon Shurtz
lethbridge herald
An assault trial scheduled to run next month in Lethbridge provincial court is one of the latest cases to fall victim to the COVID-19 virus, and now won’t be held until later in the year.
Alexander Roxby Styra was set to stand trial June 9 and 12 on charges of aggravated assault and theft of a motor vehicle, but Wednesday the trial was vacated in light of changes implemented at the courthouse since the outbreak of the pandemic.
The matter is scheduled to return to court July 24, but only to set a new date for the two-day trial.
In the meantime, Styra remains in custody at the Lethbridge Correctional Centre, where he also faces unrelated charges of motor vehicle theft, mischief and theft under $5,000.
The accused and four others, including three minors, were charged following a gang-style attack Dec. 6 on a 16-year-old boy in an alley in the 200 block of Mayor Magrath Drive North.
Police said a resident heard a commotion in the alley and saw a group of people running away. The resident heard a call for help and discovered the boy had been stabbed. The victim had to be transferred to Calgary for treatment of serious injuries.
The boy had arranged to meet an 18-year-old woman, who had planned for a group of her friends to accompany her and confront him. The woman led the victim down the alley past her hiding friends, and they assaulted him from behind. The victim was punched, kicked and stabbed several times before his assailants fled.
The next day police searched a home and found the knife they believe was used in the attack. They also recovered a stolen vehicle.
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