Defence abandons bail hearing in standoff case
By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on August 24, 2023.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com A bail hearing for a Lethbridge man arrested following a standoff with police in June didn’t last long before the hearing was abandoned by defence.Logan Conrad Drake had hoped to be released from remand custody Wednesday following his bail hearing in Lethbridge court of justice, but after hearing evidence by a family friend who was put on the stand to testify as surety for the accused, Calgary lawyer Shaun Leochko asked to speak to his client privately.
Leochko said he had been unaware of some of the information provided by the woman, and when he returned to court after speaking with Drake, he told the judge he was abandoning the bail application.
Drake, 31, faces numerous charges, including failing to comply with release conditions and resisting a peace officer. The charges stem from an incident which began about 8 a.m. on June 6 when a man with outstanding warrants relating to a domestic assault, barricaded himself inside a northside home and refused to leave.
Following numerous attempts by police to convince the man to leave the residence, officers with the critical incident Team were deployed and, when additional attempts to negotiate with the suspect failed, they tossed in a gas canister, which forced the man from the house and he was arrested.
Several blocks along 13 Street North near 19 Avenue were closed for several hours as police tried to lure the man from the home. Police tried to contact him numerous times with a megaphone, informing him he was under arrest and telling him to exit the home. Police also tried to convince the man to use a phone sent in by a robot.
Drake also faces unrelated charges of possession of stolen property over $5,000, assault, resisting a peace officer, possession of break-in tools, drug possession, obstructing a peace officer, and driving while prohibited.
His matters are scheduled to return to court Sept. 1. Follow @DShurtzHerald on Twitter 4
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