Second-degree murder suspect deals with other charges

Justin Robert White Cow is putting his time in custody to good use.

While White Cow works with his lawyer on a charge of second-degree murder, he’s been busy cleaning up a bunch of unrelated offences. Earlier this week in Lethbridge provincial court he was sentenced to 14 days in jail after pleading guilty to charges of causing a disturbance, failure to comply with a release order, and failing to comply with a probation order.

On Friday he pleaded guilty to two more charges, both theft under $5,000, and was fined $300 on one count and sentenced to three days in jail on the other.

Court was told White Cow, 33, walked into Tim Hortons on Scenic Drive South on Jan. 20 and stole a $3 bottle of milk. Police were called and they “arrested him then and there,” Crown Prosecutor Bruce Ainscough said.

On April 8 he and another person entered a liquor store and then left shortly afterward. The suspicious clerk reviewed video surveillance footage and realized White Cow had stolen a bottle of vodka.

“He drank it right in the store,” Lethbridge lawyer Claudia Connolly offered.

White Cow, who was given three days credit for time he has already spent in custody, still faces charges of assault with a weapon, causing a disturbance and assault. He is scheduled to return to court on those matters on Tuesday. He is also scheduled for a hearing July 9, when he will appear with Jason James Crane Chief on a charge of second-degree murder.

White Cow and 27-year-old Crane Chief were charged after police responded to a report of an injured man at an apartment building in the 1200 block of 4 Avenue South. Police and EMS found the body of a 43-year-old man inside one of the units, and Crane Chief was arrested May 1, four days after police found the victim’s body. White Cow was arrested on May 5.

During the evening of April 26 the victim had been inside his apartment socializing with acquaintances when a fight broke out. When a friend arrived at the victim’s apartment the following day the man was unresponsive and his friend called for help.

Police have confirmed a weapon was used during the fight and drugs were being consumed at the social gathering.