LLOYDMINSTER – A 29-year-old Saskatoon man charged with forcible confinement and assault with a weapon has another new lawyer and the matter has been adjourned again.
Luke Michael Dean’s new lawyer, Meagan Bortis of Saskatoon, waived his attendance in Lloydminster circuit court Monday and requested an adjournment until Jan. 31 to go over disclosure.
Dean is charged with forcible confinement, extortion, robbery, assault with a weapon, failing to appear in court, and breaching release conditions. Monday's court docket showed that Dean was scheduled to elect how he wants to be tried. In December 2020, however, he had elected to be tried by judge alone in Battleford Court of Queen's Bench with a preliminary hearing in Lloydminster circuit court. On indictable offences, the defence has a right to elect the mode of trial but there's a limited right to re-elect to a different mode of trial, depending on the type of offence, the desired manner of trial, and the timing of the re-election. An accused only has the right to re-elect once.
Dean is charged in connection to an incident on July 30, 2020, when Lloydminster RCMP had received a report that a victim was allegedly confined to a residence and assaulted before he was able to flee.
Lloydminster RCMP raided the home on the Saskatchewan side of the city on Aug. 5, 2020. When they entered the residence they found unknown substances inside and called in the Alberta RCMP Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement and Response Team (CLEAR) to assist.
Court documents show that Dean was out on bail when he was arrested Jan. 26, 2021, by Lloydminster RCMP after breaching release conditions for being in the City of Lloydminster. Police had responded to a complaint of suspicious activity in a Lloydminster hotel room and when they arrived they located Dean.
Dean was granted bail again in April 2021, and released on $2,000 bail with a promise to appear Oct. 14 for his scheduled preliminary hearing. He failed to appear and was arrested days later in Yorkton. He was remanded in custody and transferred to the Regina Correctional Centre. Dean is now remanded in custody by law.
The charges against Dean haven't been proven in court.
ljoy@glaciermedia.ca
