Man charged in Mount Pearl standoff fires lawyer
Justin Wiseman made it clear in April that he wanted to represent himself on charges related to a standoff with police at a Mount Pearl home, though he later took the judge’s advice and got a lawyer.
When his case was called in provincial court Thursday morning, that lawyer — Shelley Senior — said Wiseman had filed a request for a change in solicitor about a week ago.
“In other words, he wants to fire me,” Senior told the court, explaining Legal Aid is now assigning new representation for Wiseman, 26.
“Can I speak, please?” said Wiseman, appearing on a
screen live from Her Majesty’s Penitentiary.
“I’d like to set some dates for a preliminary inquiry for some of these charges.”
“Only if you’re representing yourself. If you’re getting a new lawyer I’m not going to do that,” Judge James Walsh replied, saying the dates would have to work with the new lawyer’s schedule.
“Can I set a date to set dates, then?” Wiseman responded.
Walsh obliged, setting the matter to be recalled June 15 and telling Wiseman he’d have a lawyer by then.
Wiseman has been in custody since March 13, the day of the standoff at a home on Jersey Avenue.
He had been out of jail for about two weeks at that point, and was wanted on a warrant for violating his parole. Police had received information he was at the residence.
Wiseman refused to come out, though he did speak to police from the front doorway, at one point telling them that he would be out after he had a cigarette.
Three women left the home over the next few hours and, after the last one exited, police officers noticed the house was on fire.
They stormed it and arrested Wiseman, who was taken to hospital and treated for minor injuries.
Though he went back to jail for the parole violation, Wiseman wasn’t charged with anything new until weeks later, when the RNC laid charges of arson and possessing a weapon — a knife — in relation to the standoff; break and entry into the Kelsey Drive liquor store outlet; and an armed robbery at a Marie’s Mini Mart store in Mount Pearl, during which Wiseman allegedly wore a mask and carried a knife and a hammer.
Those incidents took place on the same day.
Wiseman was also charged with breaking into an Ultramar station on Bay Bulls Road on March 2, and having possession of a stolen vehicle in the three days leading up to the standoff.