Suspect in Blood case pleads to unrelated charges

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on November 5, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A 20-year-old man charged in relation to the discovery of a woman’s body last month, has received a short jail sentence on unrelated matters.

Hunter Alexander Frank pleaded guilty Friday in Lethbridge provincial court to one charge of drug possession and two charges of breaching probation, and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.

Frank was placed on probation last December following a conviction for assault, and ordered, among other things, to not have any weapons. On May 5 of this year, however, he was passed out at the public library, and when a police officer found him Hunter was carrying two knives in a fanny pack. The officer also found a drug pipe that still had fentanyl in it.

On another occasion Frank had also failed to report to probation as directed, resulting in the second breach charge.

Frank, who struggles with addictions and has been living on the streets, was given credit for the equivalent of 21 days spent in remand custody, leaving him with nine days to serve on his 30-day sentence.

He is also in remand custody on other charges, including offering an indignity to human remains, and theft under $5,000 relating to the discovery of Tia Blood’s body, which was found Oct. 24 in the County of Lethbridge.

Blood, 34, went missing Oct. 19, and her body was found five days later southwest of Coalhurst. Police said the cause of death was undetermined.

Those charges, in addition to several unrelated charges, including taking a motor vehicle without consent, drug possession and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, have been adjourned to Nov. 25.

Frank’s lawyer told court they are working on a bail plan.

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