Man charged with uttering threats back in jail

A former Lethbridge man accused in February of threatening city police, former prime minister Stephen Harper and Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi, is back behind bars.

Dexter Evan Shea had been released from custody April 5 on charges out of Lethbridge and Strathmore, but when he failed to show up for court May 1 in Strathmore and May 3 in Lethbridge, warrants were issued for his arrest.

He was picked up shortly afterward, and Tuesday he made a brief appearance in Lethbridge provincial court, where he pleaded not guilty and was released again on $1,000 no-cash bail on charges of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm to Lethbridge police officers, and criminal harassment of a woman with whom he previously attended school. Although technically released on the Lethbridge charges, he remains in custody on the charges out of Strathmore, pending a bail hearing there.

The accused was ordered Tuesday to adhere to the same release conditions to which he agreed upon during his bail hearing on the Lethbridge charges last month, which are to live with his 90year-old grandmother in Three Hills, report weekly to the RCMP, abstain from consuming alcohol or non-prescribed drugs, submit a breath sample upon demand, and not post messages on any social media sites.

RCMP previously reported they learned of the threats against all the complainants around the same time in February. Shea, 31, was arrested a day after Calgary police informed the RCMP of threats on Facebook toward the politicians and police officers. At the time of his arrest, he had been on probation for previous charges of uttering threats.

Shea was back in Lethbridge court Wednesday, as well, where he scheduled a trial for July 17 on the Lethbridge charges. Duty counsel lawyer Brett Carlson said the accused intends to represent himself at trial and needs time to receive disclosure from the Crown’s office. Carlson said Shea previously had disclosure, but doesn’t any longer.

“I sent my disclosure to the FBI,” Shea yelled from the Red Deer Remand Centre, where he appeared by closed-circuit TV. “I’m sure I can get it back.”