Attempted murder trial set over
Man charged with trying to kill Trent Butt appears in court, lawyers working on resolutions
Lawyers involved in the case of a man accused of trying to murder Trent Butt in prison say they are working on a resolution.
Justin Jordan’s case was called in provincial court in St. John’s Friday morning, where Jordan, who appeared via video, was set to enter pleas on multiple charges.
Crown prosecutor Jason House and defence lawyer Michael Ralph told the court they are in discussions to resolve the matter, and asked that it be set over to Oct. 2.
Jordan, 26, is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, assault, making a false alarm of fire and four breaches of probation. Not all of the charges relate to the incident with Butt, who was stabbed during recreation time at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary in June. He wasn’t seriously injured.
Butt is in jail awaiting trial on charges of first-degree murder and arson for the death of his five-year-old daughter, Quinn Butt, last year. His jury trial will get underway at Supreme Court in March.
Jordan, whose criminal record includes convictions for assault, armed robbery and break and entry, has been in jail since April, when he pleaded guilty and received a six-month sentence for another stabbing in St. John’s.
On his first court appearance after being arrested for attempting to murder Butt, Jordan shouted to TV cameras, “Put your hands in the air for baby Quinn!”