Court Briefs: Cop guilty of assault appealing sentence

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on October 15, 2022.

https://www.medicinehatnews.com@MedicineHatNews

A Medicine Hat police officer found guilty of assaulting a teen after a round of ding-dong-ditch is appealing his summary conviction and a suspended sentence with 18 months probation.

Friday’s arraignments list at Court of King’s Bench in Medicine Hat shows Myles Barry Stieger – who represented himself in proceedings this summer – has retained Calgary defence attorney Alain Hepner, but no action was taken on the day.

Local Crown prosecutor Ian Elford told the court his office doesn’t deal with cases involving local police officers to avoid potential conflicts of interest, and an out-of-town prosecutor would be assigned to the file.

The applicant as well did not appear, leading Justice Dallas Miller to adjourn the matter until the next arraignment date in November.

Red Deer-based prosecutor Stephen Hill told the News following the judge-alone trial on Sept. 1 the conditions for less-serious summary conviction of assault were met when Steiger grabbed the sweatshirt of a 12-year-old boy, causing him to fall off a retaining wall.

Steiger’s defence was based on the premise the 11-year veteran who worked undercover drug sales felt his wife and children were threatened when he heard loud banging on his door at 10:30 p.m. one night in May 2021.

Dates for sex assault trial

A tentative trail date has been set for a local man charged with three other men for offering underage girls alcohol and drugs in exchange for sex.

Cory James Dominaux, 37, pleaded not guilty to the charges, including two counts of sexual assault on a person under the age of 16 in February 2021.

On Friday, lawyers tentatively agreed to stage a six-day, judge-alone trial starting May 29, 2023.

A pre-trial conference is scheduled for early December, at which time the trial dates could be finalized, court heard. Pre-trial applications are already set to be heard in early May.

Lawyer Scott Hadford is representing the defendant, while the Crown’s case is being directed by Tara Hayes of the Specialized Prosecutions office in Calgary.

Counterfeit verdict

A man found guilty by a Medicine Hat jury last week of counterfeiting $1,300 in Canadian and U.S. currency will have a sentencing date set on Nov. 18.

Kevin Hopf was found guilty after four days of trial at Court of Kings Bench on counts of possessing and producing counterfeit funds.

An indictable conviction carries with it a maximum prison term of 14 years.

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