Greenwood man’s human trafficking case postponed

A human trafficking trial that was to start Tuesday has been postponed until July as the accused will soon be moved to a federal prison.

Franklin Dale Mckay, 29, of Greenwood, stood in front of judge Alan Tufts in Kentville provincial court yesterday as his defence lawyer, Zebb Brown, asked for the trial to be postponed to July 31.

Mckay, who has begun serving time on a seven-year sentence he received April 19 after pleading guilty to robbery and aggravated assault, appeared in court on two separate matters — a recognizance breach from March 2017, and to enter an election and plea on several human traffickingrelated charges he is accused of.

He pleaded guilty to one count of breaching recognizance and was handed sentence for oneday that was deemed served. The Crown dismissed the remaining charges.

The defence’s basis for the request to postpone the human trafficking trial was they had yet to receive the Crown’s disclosure package.

Crown attorney Jim Fyfe spoke with Brown prior to the trial and did not argue against the application, and judge Tufts granted the request to postpone.

It is not confirmed where Mckay will serve federal time, but Brown told Judge Tufts it would likely be at the federal Springhill Institution. Mckay will now appear via video conference during future trial dates, with the first set for July 31.