Pleas have been entered in Queen’s Bench court in connection to the series of events that culminated in a standoff with RCMP near Delmas last April.
Tristan Pinder of Elk Point, Alta, has entered guilty pleas to four counts. One is a charge from April 13 in Regina of robbery, in connection to an incident involving theft of a taxi van in that city.
The other three guilty pleas stem from April 14 and they are:
At Delmas, discharging a firearm at an RCMP constable with intent to prevent arrest;
While operating a motor vehicle, failed without reasonable excuse to stop his vehicle while being pursued by a peace officer at Lashburn;
Stealing gasoline of a value not exceeding $5,000, also at Lashburn.
No pleas were entered for all other counts, one of which is attempted murder. The indication is these other counts will be stayed at the conclusion of sentencing.
The guilty pleas were entered by Pinder in Court of Queen’s Bench, Battleford, before Justice Gerald Allbright. In his brief court appearance, Pinder indicated he was making the pleas voluntarily, was admitting to the essential elements of the charges, and that he understood there were consequences to the pleas of guilty to the charges.
Sentencing has been set for April 10 at 2 pm, also in Battleford. In connection to that, Justice Allbright has ordered preparation of a pre-sentence report and directed the author to canvass in detail potential Gladue factors relating to Pinder.
Gladue refers to the 1999 Supreme Court decision R. v. Gladue, which ruled courts must consider the circumstances of Aboriginal offenders in imposing sentence.
Previously, Pinder’s co-accused, Verena Petruka of Melville, was sentenced in North Battleford Provincial Court to a total of eight and one half years incarceration, less remand time, in connection to the same incidents. She had entered guilty pleas to accessory to robbery as well as discharge of a firearm at a police officer.
All charges stem from incidents that began April 13 in Regina, where police were called to the scene of an alleged robbery in which a taxi van was stolen.
On April 14 around 11:30 a.m., Maidstone RCMP reported they received a complaint of a theft from a gas station in Lashburn. According to police, the suspect vehicle was a black Dodge Caravan that matched the description of the vehicle in the Regina robbery.
Maidstone RCMP located the suspect vehicle on Highway 16 and activated their emergency equipment, but the van did not stop. RCMP members followed the van eastbound on Highway 16 to a location just west of Delmas, where an exchange of fire occurred between RCMP and individuals in the van.
Pinder and Petruka were later arrested at the scene. No RCMP members were injured as a result of this incident.
