Calgary lawyer holding up robbery case

By Lethbridge Herald on October 19, 2023.

Delon Shurtz
LETHBRIDGE HERALD

A Calgary lawyer’s repeated failure to file the proper paperwork in court continues to delay a robbery case, a judge was told Wednesday.

Lethbridge Crown Prosecutor Michael Fox explained Wednesday in Lethbridge court of justice, that a preliminary hearing for the accused, Jamie Gerald Bagu, cannot be scheduled until the defence files specific paperwork with the court. Despite several previous adjournments, however, the court is still waiting, Fox said.

Bagu, who was denied bail in June, is charged with two counts each of robbery with a firearm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, pointing a firearm, use of a firearm while committing an offence, and disguised with intent, and one count each of assault with a weapon and unsafe storage of a firearm.

The charges stem from incidents on March 17 and April 11, 2023 at CIBC in the 500 block of 13 Street North.

Police reported that in both cases a man entered the bank, pointed a firearm at employees and demanded money, then fled with an undisclosed amount of cash. No one was injured during either robbery.

A vehicle with distinctive features was identified after it was recorded by a video surveillance camera leaving the area of the second robbery at a high rate of speed. 

Police later found the vehicle and identified a suspect.

Although defence did, after repeated adjournments, finally choose which court the case will proceed in – King’s Bench with a judge and jury and preliminary hearing – Fox said defence still needs to file a “Form 4” before any significant steps can be taken and a pretrial conference can be scheduled. A pretrial conference is required to discuss case issues and schedule dates for a trial or preliminary hearing.

“We need to put an end to these procedural delays so we can start selecting dates,” Fox said. “Right now two months have been lost due to procedural delays.”

During a break in Wednesday’s proceedings, an agent for the defence, Sydney Kelndorfer, contacted Bagu’s lawyer, Katherin Beyak, for instructions, and assured court the paperwork would be prepared by the end of the week.

Fox said that should allow the Crown and defence time to have a pretrial conference before the next hearing on Nov. 1, or at least confirm a date for the pretrial conference.

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