The decision was made this morning after Leo Crockwell opted not to show up for his trial. He was represented in provincial court in St. John’s by his lawyer Nick Westera. Westera told Judge Colin Flynn that Crockwell preferred that the trial proceed in his absence. “He’s apprehensive about being here,” Westera said. “He has issues with the justice system.”
The 60-year-old Crockwell has pleaded not guilty to the charge, which alleges that between June 16 and June 26, 2014, he “did without reasonable excuse, fail to comply with the set order.”
However, court documents don’t indicate what the order was.
In defending Crockwell’s decision not to be there, Westera told the judge that identity wasn’t an issue in the case. Prosecutor Elizabeth Ivany had no objection with Crockwell’s absence, pointing out that the Crown is proceeding summarily, meaning if convicted, Crockwell would not face a stiff sentence.
However, Flynn didn’t like the idea of Crockwell not being there for his own trial.
“I’m not comfortable with that. That’s so rare,” the judge said.
“No, I’m not proceeding without him.”
They agreed to reschedule the trial for March 28.
Flynn made an order that Crockwell be there at that time.
Crockwell’s trial had originally been set for October 2015, but lawyers agreed to await the decision of the Newfoundland Court of Appeal regarding the calculation of his jail term.
On June 1, 2012, Crockwell was convicted of firearms charges as a result of an eight-day standoff with the RCMP in December 2010.
On Feb. 15, 2013, he was sentenced to a global sentence of four years (1,460 days), with three years’ probation. Crockwell was given straight-time credit for the 797 days he’d already spent in custody.
With prisoners normally serving the provincial standard two-thirds of their sentence, he wasn’t scheduled to be released until May 2014.
However, Crockwell filed an application, claiming his sentence was miscalculated and that he should be freed earlier.
A Newfoundland Supreme Court judge agreed and ruled that calculating Crockwell’s release date should have been based on his total four-year sentence because that was the mandatory minimum for the charges, according to the Criminal Code of Canada.
Crockwell was released in December 2013 as a result, but the Crown successfully appealed that decision.
In December 2015, the Newfoundland Court of Appeal said Crockwell’s release date should have been based on two-thirds of the remaining time he had left to serve on his term and not on two-thirds of his total sentence.
rmullaley@thetelegram.com
Twitter: @TelyCourt
