Fourth man charged in Coutts conspiracy case

A 12th individual who was arrested in relation to the protest at Coutts and charged with conspiracy to commit murder, had his matter addressed Feb. 16 in Lethbridge provincial court.

Jerry Mitchell Morin, who is remanded at the Lethbridge Correctional Centre, was not required to appear in court, but was represented by Calgary lawyer Andrew Stewart. Stewart asked the matter to be adjourned until March 15 to allow time to schedule a bail hearing in Court of Queen’s Bench.

In addition to conspiracy to commit murder, Morin, 40, is charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and mischief. Three others charged with the same offences - Chris Carbert, 44, of Lethbridge, Christopher Lysak, 48, of Lethbridge, and Anthony Olienick, 39, of Claresholm – were detained in custody following their court appearances Feb. 15. Their matters were adjourned Feb. 18, as was the matter for Evan Colenutt, who is not charged with conspiracy, but faces charges of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and mischief. Colenutt was also denied bail last

Tuesday after Crown Prosecutor Steven Johnston said he will be contesting the accused’s release.

Seven other accused who were in court Feb. 15 were released on bail and had their matters adjourned to March 15. Ursula Allred, 22, of Magrath; Johnson Chichow Law, 39, of Calgary; Justin Martin, 22, of Raymond; Eastin Stewart Oler, 22, of Raymond; Joanne Person, 62, of Coutts; Janx Zaremba, 18, of Raymond; and Luke Berk, 62, of Red Deer, are charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and mischief.

A 13th individual, Jaclyne Martin, 39, faces mischief and weapon charges, as well. She has yet to make a court appearance.

RCMP reported they arrested the individuals Feb. 14 during the protest at the Coutts border, after becoming aware of a cache of firearms and ammunition. A blockade of trucks and vehicles had been at the crossing since Jan. 29, but protestors began dispersing Feb. 15 in response to the discovery of weapons.

“The development with weapons and the personal armour was not associated with us, and to keep that distance we decided to leave peacefully,” said Marco Van Huigenbos, one of the protest organizers.

Police said they believed a small organized group within the protest was willing to use force against the police if any attempts were made to disrupt the blockade. During the early-morning raid Feb. 14, police uncovered 13 long guns, as well as handguns, a machete, and a large quantity of ammunition and body armour. Two additional weapons were seized later in the day.

The accused who were released on bail Feb. 15 are required to abide by several conditions, including a promise to pay $2,000 if they breach any of the conditions. They must not contact each other, or go within 200 metres of any protests or protest events, and, with the exception of Person, they can’t be south of Milk River. They are not to possess any weapons and they must reside at specific addresses. Oler, Allred, Law and Zaremba were granted permission to live in Calgary, while Berk will reside in Red Deer, Martin in Turner Valley, and Person in Coutts.

Court was told Feb. 15 Justin Martin, Allred, Oler and Zaremba had all been residing in Calgary and working at the same business.