Man guilty of extortion awaits sentencing
By Delon Shurtz on May 26, 2021.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com A former Lethbridge man who has been waiting since last November to be sentenced on charges of extortion and being unlawfully in a house to commit extortion, will likely have to wait a little longer.Oluwaseye Morawo was scheduled to be sentenced next month, but during a hearing Monday in Lethbridge provincial court, Lethbridge lawyer Greg White asked to withdraw, citing a breakdown in the solicitor-client relationship. The matter returns to court June 10 when Morawo is expected to have a new lawyer speak to the charges.
Morawo was also scheduled to stand trial June 9 on an unrelated charge of sexual assault, but after White withdrew, Judge Kristin Ailsby called a mistrial, and the matter was adjourned to June 15 to set a date for a new trial.
Morawo pleaded guilty last November to the charges of extortion and being unlawfully in a house, but sentencing was adjourned to allow time for the preparation of a pre-sentence report. The matter has been adjourned several times since then.
The charges stem from incidents last August after Morawo had arranged to rent a room in a woman’s apartment. He and another man arrived at the residence to view the room, and Morawo later e-transferred the woman a deposit of $500.
On Aug. 31 Morawo and his friend showed up at her house and Morawo said he no longer wanted to rent the room, and demanded she return the deposit, but the woman refused because she had taken the room off the market after she received the deposit.
Morawo threatened to take her to court, then showed up at her residence and walked in without her permission. When the woman told them to leave or she would call the police, Morawo grabbed her cellphone.
Fearing for her safety — Morawo’s friend would not let her leave her residence — she drove to her bank with the two men closely following her in another vehicle. While she waited for the cash from the drive-through teller, Morawo stood in front of her vehicle to prevent her from leaving.
She gave him the money and he left the area, but police found him later and he was arrested and charged.
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