April Dawn Irving released on bail

ACCUSED TO LIVE IN COUNTY OF WARNER

After spending several months in custody before, during and after having a lengthy psychological assessment, it looked like April Dawn Irving, who faces fouryear-old animal neglect charges, was finally going to be released.

On May 10 in Lethbridge provincial court, the Crown consented to Irving’s release from custody on $1,000, no-cash surety, and the promise that she live with the named surety at a specific address in Milk River.

However, Irving was never released. A judge was told Friday the accused’s lawyer had given the court an incorrect address, and Irving could not be released until the court knew where she would be living pending the disposition of her charges.

While Crown prosecutor Tyler Raymond said he wasn’t suggesting defence intentionally provided a wrong address, he noted Lethbridge lawyer Bjoern Wolkmann had during the bail hearing two weeks ago asked the judge to order a publication ban and close the courtroom to the public so the media couldn’t report the address and place Irving at risk for reprisals from people upset because of the alleged offence.

Moments after the bail hearing was over, and the public and media were gone, Wolkmann tried to reconvene the bail hearing to change the address.

Wolkmann apologized to the judge Friday, and said he didn’t intentionally provide the wrong address, and didn’t realize it was incorrect until he spoke to the surety after the bail hearing.

“It does look like I’m trying to hide the address from the press,” he said. “That was not my intention, at all.”

Wolkmann said he had tried to correct his mistake immediately, and Judge Derek Redman agreed the matter should have been heard right away, rather than making Irving stay in custody for two more weeks.

“It should have been brought back that day,” he said.

Redman reminded counsel that Irving had not yet had a trial, “and as she stands here ... she is an innocent woman.”

Redman released her from custody to live at a rural address in the County of Warner.

The former Milk River-area resident faces one charge of animal cruelty under the Criminal Code and 13 counts under the Animal Protection Act relating to the lack of care of animals previously in her possession. She was charged early in 2015 after she voluntarily surrendered 60 dogs to the SPCA in December 2014, and after another 141 dogs were seized Jan. 13, 2015, after authorities returned to her property with a warrant.

Officials reported many of the dogs were emaciated, dirty, dehydrated and suffering from various medical and behavioural ailments, and were found under trailers, in outbuildings and outside where they were exposed to cold weather.

She was released from custody shortly after she was charged and ordered to have a psychological assessment as an outpatient. She never had the assessment, then failed to appear in court Feb. 19, 2016 and a warrant was issued for her arrest. The woman had reportedly fled to Jamaica, but she was finally arrested in December of last year in Manitoba and returned to Lethbridge the following month where she remained in custody until her bail hearing Friday.

She pleaded guilty in March to one count of failing to attend court and was sentenced to 30 days in jail, for which she was given full credit for time she’s already spent in custody. She pleaded not guilty to the rest of her charges.

In February Irving was sent to the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Centre in Calgary for a court-ordered assessment. Under Section 672 of the Criminal Code, an assessment of the mental condition of an accused can be ordered to determine whether the accused was, at the time of the commission of the alleged offence, suffering from a mental disorder so as to be exempt from criminal responsibility.

The assessment, received by the court in April, determined the accused can be held criminally responsible for the offences she faces.

While she is out on bail Irving must behave herself, report to court when required and live at the specified address. She is also prohibited from possessing or being the primary caregiver of any house pets.

Irving has another court hearing scheduled for Monday.

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