Police pursuit case sent back to Lethbridge

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on February 8, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A Lethbridge man who pleaded not guilty last year to several criminal charges, then waived the charges to Calgary to resolve them with a guilty plea, has changed his mind again and is back in Lethbridge to schedule a trial.
The matter for Darcy Red Crow was in Lethbridge provincial court Monday, where his lawyer was granted an adjournment to Feb. 14. Calgary lawyer Shaun Leochko told court he and the Crown will, in the meantime, arrange a date to hold a pre-trial conference and discuss a subsequent bail hearing, both of which can be spoken to when the case returns to court later this month.
Red Crow, 46, is charged with two counts each of dangerous driving, flight from a peace officer, drug possession for the purpose of trafficking, and possession of identity information, and single counts of possession of stolen property over $5,000, possession of stolen property under $5,000, driving while prohibited, and obstructing a peace officer. He is also charged under the Traffic Safety Act with one count of driving without insurance.
Just before 4 p.m. on May 31 of last year, Lethbridge police noticed a vehicle, which had earlier been reported stolen from Calgary. Officers with the priority crimes unit and crime suppression team followed the car as it drove to the Blood Reserve, where Blood Tribe police attempted to stop the vehicle before it sped away.
Police came across the vehicle shortly afterward as it headed north toward Claresholm. An officer in a marked RCMP vehicle attempted to stop the vehicle, but it fled toward Nobleford and eventually Picture Butte. Just after 6 p.m. the driver stopped and Lethbridge police arrested him.
Red Crow, who remains in custody, had been ordered in June to undergo a psychological assessment to determine his fitness to stand trial. Court was told then that there isn’t an issue with Red Crow’s mental capacity at the time of the alleged offence, but events following his arrest prompted the request for a fitness assessment.

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