Connolly pleads not guilty to murdering Steven Miller
Co-accused Chesley Lucas, along with Southlands party attacker Robert Mills, facing charges of beating fellow inmate
Paul Connolly entered not guilty pleas and chose a jury trial when he was arraigned in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court Wednesday, but his lawyers acknowledged this may change.
Connolly, 36, was arraigned on charges of first-degree murder, arson, robbery and forcible confinement in connection with the stabbing death of 25-year-old Steven Miller in C.B.S. last year. Connolly is the last of four men, all originally charged with the same offences, to enter pleas in the case: 21-year-old Kyle Morgan pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to manslaughter and was sentenced to one year in jail last August. Chesley Lucas, 24, and Calvin Kenny, 27, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, arson, robbery and forcible confinement. Defence and Crown lawyers made a joint sentencing submission for 7 ½ years in prison, but provincial court Judge Colin Flynn rejected the suggestion, saying aspects of it were too low. The case will be back in court Nov. 22 for the lawyers to address the judge’s concerns.
Connolly’s lawyers, Mark Gruchy and Jeff Brace, told Justice William Goodridge Wednesday that Lucas and Kenny’s sentencing “may impact” their Paul Connolly.
client’s pleas in the case. A tentative trial date has been set for Nov. 5, 2018.
Miller was kidnapped from his home, which was then set on fire, in July 2016. His body was later found in the driveway of a home in Kelligrews.
Prison incident
Lucas also made a court appearance Wednesday, on new and unrelated charges: he and fellow inmate Robert Mills appeared before Judge Lois Skanes on charges of assault causing bodily harm and breaching court orders for allegedly beating another prisoner on Aug. 19.
Mills, 24, is serving a threeyear sentence after pleading guilty to charges of aggravated assault, assault with a weapon (brass knuckles) and possession of a weapon for a serious attack on a 21-year-old man at a house party in Southlands in March 2016.
The victim of the alleged prison beating is Justin Jordan, who recently pleaded guilty to a stabbing inside Her Majesty’s Penitentiary earlier this year: he stabbed fellow inmate Trent Butt, who will soon stand trial in the death of his five-year-old daughter. Butt was not seriously injured.
The assault case of Lucas and Mills, who were charged jointly, was set over until a later date.