Man in murder case pleads guilty to driving without insurance

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on June 30, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

One of several people charged in relation to a one-year-old murder case will serve a jail sentence instead of paying a fine for an unrelated offence under the Traffic Safety Act.
Edward Goodrich, 51, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Lethbridge provincial court to one count of driving without insurance, and was fined $3,000. However, because he is currently in remand custody on charges of accessory after the fact to murder and interfering with a dead body, he chose to serve the default time of 45 days in jail instead of paying the fine.
On July 8, 2021, Lethbridge police were conducting surveillance relating to a drug investigation when they noticed a Chevy Blazer with a licence plate that was registered to a Chevy Cavalier. Police stopped the vehicle on 13 Street North, and the driver, Goodrich, was unable to show the officers a drivers licence – it had previously been seized by police for driving with an expired drivers licence – and the only vehicle documents he had related to a GMC Sonoma.
The Crown and defence jointly recommended a jail sentence rather than a fine, since Goodrich is currently in custody waiting to have a bail hearing on the criminal charges. He returns to court on those charges July 11.
Goodrich is one of five people accused in the death of Lane Tailfeathers of Fort Macleod, who was reported missing on June 23, 2021. A month later Tailfeather’s remains were found in a remote area near Crowsnest Pass. RCMP investigators determined the 35-year-old man was killed in Fort Macleod between June 20 and 21 of last year.
Richard Lavell, 43, Miranda Turuk, 28, and Randy Giroux, 40, are charged with second-degree murder. They return to court July 13. A fourth accused, Michelle Toth, is charged with accessory after the fact to murder and interfering with a dead body. She was in court Tuesday, as well, but her matters were adjourned to July 12. She also had a bail hearing Monday in Court of Queen’s Bench, which is scheduled to continue today.

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