No bail for woman accused in white powder incidents

After hearing nearly two days of evidence, a Saskatoon provincial court judge has denied Alexa Amanda Emerson bail in connection to numerous bomb threats and white powder packages sent to businesses and schools in and around Saskatoon.

The evidence presented at the bail hearing, and the judge’s reasons for denying bail, are banned from publication to ensure Emerson has the right to a fair trial.

Emerson, who has previously gone by the name Amanda Totchek, faces 83 charges including public mischief, criminal harassment and uttering threats. She was originally charged in November 2016 when five packages containing white powder were delivered to various Saskatoon businesses.

The Crown consented to her release in January on conditions that she live in Alberta and stay 50 kilometres away from Saskatoon except to attend court or medical appointments. Emerson was rearrested in April after more suspicious packages were sent out in late March.

Outside court, Crown prosecutor Jennifer Claxton-Viczko said Emerson should be denied bail on both the secondary and tertiary grounds. Secondary grounds involve a likelihood of the accused committing further offences; Claxton-Viczko said it’s the Crown’s belief that Emerson emailed bomb threats while she was out on $5,000 bail and conditions that she not use any computer devices.

The tertiary grounds involve the strength of the Crown’s case, the gravity of the offences and the potential for a lengthy term of imprisonment — criteria that Claxton-Viczko argued have been met.

“Even if she was convicted of only some of (these) charges, she’s still facing a lengthy period of incarceration because of the nature of the charges,” Claxton-Viczko said.

On Wednesday, she estimated the financial toll of the white powder and bomb scares at more than $200,000.

“It’s not just the community at large that’s affected, but there’s also a group of people that have been harassed continually and those people have a right to get on with their lives.”

Emerson has an option to request a bail review hearing. Her lawyer, Patrick McDougall, did not speak to media after the hearing.

One of Emerson’s previous lawyers indicated the case stems from “a complicated domestic situation.”