Second trial set on mass killing ammo charges

A second person has pleaded not guilty to a charge of illegally transferring ammunition to the man who later carried out Canada's worst mass shooting.

Brian W. Brewster, 61, of Lucasville is one of three people accused of supplying ammunition to the shooter in the month leading up to the 13-hour rampage, which began on the night of April 18, 2020, in Portapique, Colchester County.

Brewster's matter wasn't supposed to return to Dartmouth provincial court until April 19 but was moved ahead to Tuesday, when lawyer Tom Singleton entered a notguilty plea for him.

Judge Rickcola Brinton scheduled the trial for three days beginning Jan. 11, 2022.

The judge will hold a pretrial conference with lawyers in July.

Saltwire Network is not naming the gunman, who killed 22 people and wounded three others before he was shot to death by police at a gas station in Enfield.

RCMP announced in December that three people had been charged with providing ammunition to the shooter between March 17 and April 18 of last year. Police said the accused were not aware of the gunman's plans and had cooperated with investigators.

Brewster's sister-in-law, Lisa Diana Banfield, 52, of Dartmouth, was the gunman's common-law spouse. The two charges she faces are due back in court May 5 for pleas.

Her brother, James Blair Banfield, 65, of Beaver Bank, pleaded not guilty to a single charge Monday. His trial will get underway next Jan. 24.

The Crown is proceeding summarily on the charges. Summary-conviction offences are considered less serious than indictable offences and carry lesser penalties.

The maximum sentence on the charges is two years less a day in jail, a $5,000 fine, or both.