Lawyer hoping client gets bail next week
By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on August 17, 2023.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com
The lawyer for a Lethbridge man arrested following a standoff with police in June hopes his client will be released on bail when the matter returns to court next week.
Calgary lawyer Shaun Leochko appeared in Lethbridge court of justice Wednesday on behalf of the accused, Logan Conrad Drake, and told the judge he needs more time to work on a bail plan, the details of which he will provide to the Crown prosecutor.
Drake was expected to have a bail hearing last month, but defence requested an adjournment for a week instead to pursue early case resolution discussions with the Crown. The matter has been adjourned several times since then.
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. Those charges were also adjourned to next Wednesday.
4
-3