Crown, police are looking for key witness in shooting case

The trial for a man accused of taking shots in the direction of police officers during an October standoff has been put on temporary hold after a key witness failed to show up to testify.

The woman — listed as the complainant on an unlawful confinement charge — reportedly came to court last Thursday, when the trial for Lyall Marlin Anaquod, 42, was initially supposed to start.

The trial wasn’t able to proceed on that date, and was instead set over to Tuesday. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Regina Provincial Court Judge Dennis Fenwick heard from numerous police witnesses called by Crown prosecutor Kim Jones.

Court heard from officers who said they were investigating an alleged property offence at 1152 Elphinstone St. when shots came from the house. The SWAT team was called in as a result.

One of the SWAT members said someone in the house took a shot in his direction, with the bullet passing close by him. A second member of the SWAT team, a trained sniper, said he took a shot at the upper window of the house when he saw the barrel of a long gun aimed in the direction of his teammates.

Anaquod was arrested on the night of the incident. Among his charges is one alleging he confined a woman in the house, and that woman was supposed to testify Thursday.

Throughout the trial, Jones had provided periodic updates to the court on attempts being made to find her, given she appeared to be making herself scarce. By Thursday, attempts by police to locate her had been unsuccessful.

The trial was set over to June 11 to allow police to continue their efforts.

Anaquod — sporting a swollen, red eye as the result of an in-custody incident — will remain on remand in the meantime.