Charges in syringe case to be resolved next week

By Delon Shurtz on February 12, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A 29-year-old man accused of spraying a security guard in the face with a loaded syringe nearly a year ago, is expected to resolve his case next week.

Lethbridge lawyer Ingrid Hess had hoped her client, Wade Allan Cross Child, would resolve his charges and be sentenced Wednesday in Lethbridge provincial court. He didn’t show up for the hearing, however, and the matter was adjourned until next Wednesday for disposition.

Cross Child is charged with aggravated assault, assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon, stemming from an incident at the former drug supervised consumption site last March.

Just after 6 a.m. police responded to a report that a security guard working at the SCS in the 1000 block of 1 Avenue South had been assaulted by a client.

The guard approached a man in the waiting area after he began to inject himself, but because drug use is not permitted in that area, the security guard told the man to stop and go into the supervised area. The man became upset and shot the contents of the syringe – blood and other fluids – into the security guard’s face before he was taken into custody.

The 23-year-old guard was treated at Chinook Regional Hospital and released, but required ongoing treatment afterward as a result of the exposure.

Police arrested the suspect at the SCS and seized the syringe.

The matter has been adjourned nearly two dozen times since Cross Child’s arrest, in part to allow him to complete a drug treatment program. His case was also interrupted after he was sentenced to 30 days in jail for breaching conditions of his release on the assault charges.

Cross Child, who was released from custody shortly after his arrest March 3, was ordered to stay away from the SCS where the assault occurred. The very next day, however, he returned to the facility and was charged with failing to comply with an undertaking. He pleaded guilty to the charge March 12. He also pleaded guilty to one count of shoplifting and was fined $500. Less than an hour after he was released on the SCS assault charges, he walked into Shoppers Drug Mart, picked up $43 worth of Pizza Pops and ice cream bars, and left without paying. Instead of paying the fine, Cross Child chose to serve the default time of four days in jail.

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