Attempted murder case delayed again
Accused seeking new lawyer for fourth time
An attempted murder case has been delayed yet again while a 32-year-old Lethbridge man hires another lawyer, his fourth since August. His most recent lawyer, Bill Wister of Calgary, asked during a brief hearing in Lethbridge provincial court Wednesday to be removed as solicitor of record for the accused, Robert John Sheppard.
Although Crown prosecutor Clayton Giles consented, he pointed out Sheppard has not had a bail hearing and has been in custody since April. Wister, he noted, was hired specifically to represent the accused for his bail hearing.
Giles said the Crown is anxious to move forward with the case, and added the new lawyer will have “voluminous” amounts of disclosure to review before he’s ready to proceed. “The Crown is frustrated,” Giles told the judge. Sheppard, who appeared in court by closedcircuit TV from the Lethbridge Correctional Centre, said Legal Aid has approved a new lawyer, Andre Ouellette of Calgary. The matter is scheduled to return to court Dec. 12 to confirm whether Ouellette will take the case.
Sheppard faces a single charge of attempted murder and charges of assault with a weapon, discharging a firearm, resisting arrest, careless use/storage of a firearm, pointing a firearm, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public, unauthorized possession of a firearm, unauthorized possession of a firearm/weapon in a vehicle, possession of a firearm/weapon obtained by the commission of an offence and carrying a concealed weapon.
The charges relate to an incident April 15 in which police reported shots were fired in a home in the 100 block of Heritage Boulevard West. Four people safely escaped from the home and the area was cordoned off as police attempted to find the suspect.
The individual fled before the tactical team entered the home, but RCMP officers found him early the next morning and he was arrested near Granum following a police chase.
In addition to those charges, Sheppard faces three unrelated charges of assault, sexual assault and mischief causing damage for which a trial date has yet to be scheduled. He was also scheduled for trial in September on charges of sexual assault with a weapon, sexual assault causing bodily harm, uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, and two counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, but the trial had to be cancelled when he parted ways with his first lawyer. That trial is set to be heard next September.