Coutts dangerous driving charge withdrawn
By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on March 15, 2023.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com A southern Alberta woman charged in connection with the Coutts border blockade and protest last January and February, is no longer facing a criminal trial.Joanne Person was expected to schedule a trial on a single charge of dangerous driving, but the charge was unexpectedly withdrawn last week in Lethbridge provincial court.
The charge stems from an incident Feb. 1 of last year when a pickup truck drove through the blockade along Highway 4 near the U. S. border and headed toward oncoming traffic before becoming involved in a head-on collision.
Person was set to stand trial on the matter last month, but the two-day trial was cancelled after her lawyer, Kelsey Sitar of Calgary, withdrew as counsel.
“Miss Person has discharged me on this matter,” Sitar told the judge during a court hearing Jan. 23. “She’s advised she no longer wants me to represent her.”
The trial was cancelled after the Crown and Person, who decided to represent herself, agreed there was not enough time for her to review disclosure and prepare her defence. Person and the Crown were in the process of finding dates for a new trial when the charge was withdrawn following a pretrial conference.
She was, however, fined $300 after she pleaded guilty to one count under the Traffic Safety Act of failure to remain at the scene of an accident, in relation to the collision.
Person had also been charged with mischief and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose in relation to the protest, and was scheduled to have a preliminary hearing on Jan. 16. However, the charges were withdrawn on the day of the hearing.
Person, who was representing herself, pleaded not guilty to the charges last August and elected to be tried by a Court of King’s Bench judge and a jury, with a preliminary hearing. A preliminary hearing is typically held to determine if there is enough evidence to warrant a trial.
The Crown did not provide any reasons for withdrawing the charges, and a gun police seized from Person’s Coutts residence was forfeited for destruction. Follow @DShurtzHerald on Twitter 4
-3
