By Tina Comeau
THE VANGUARD
NovaNewsNow.com
Three days of court time have been reserved in September for the preliminary inquiry of a Yarmouth man who stands accused of first-degree murder.
At a provincial court appearance on Monday, June 21, the dates of Sept. 15, 16 and 17 were reserved for the preliminary inquiry of Ian Matthew Huskins.
Huskins is charged with the death of Neil Joseph Blades Jr., who was killed nearly a year ago on July 11.
The defence told Judge Robert Prince that they are anxious to move forward with the preliminary inquiry, given that Huskins has been in custody since last August. Speaking on behalf of lawyer Clifford Hood, who is representing Huskins, co-counsel Matt Fraser said they wanted the preliminary inquiry to be held sometime between July and September, and the sooner the better.
Fraser said the preliminary inquiry would take three days.
A preliminary inquiry gives the defence an opportunity to examine the Crown’s evidence in a case and also allows the court to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to have a matter set over for trial.
Crown attorney Michelle Christenson said given vacations during the summer, and also another murder trial requiring one of her key witnesses elsewhere, it would be difficult to move ahead with the preliminary inquiry much sooner than September. She said six witnesses – including the medical examiner and a couple of RCMP investigators – were not available in August. There was also a period when the other Crown involved in the case, Bob Morrison, was not available. As well, Judge Prince was unavailable in mid-August.
Christenson added that the Crown has asked the defence to file a list of the witnesses it will be requiring for the preliminary inquiry. Judge Prince suggested that once that list is supplied it might be possible to set an earlier date for the preliminary inquiry.
Huskins originally had been slated to have his preliminary inquiry held in early May but his lawyer at the time, Chris Manning, had to withdrew because of a perceived conflict of interest involving his co-counsel. The lawyer who was assisting Manning had, last fall, had a discussion with Jermaine Middleton, who was a co-accused in the case. The discussion did not involve any specifics about the case, but rather was for the purpose of discussing legal procedures pertaining to obtaining legal counsel.
Middleton and Alicia Anderson have both pleaded guilty to, and been sentenced for, accessory to murder after the fact. Middleton received a three-year prison term and Anderson received house arrest as part of a conditional sentence of two years less a day.
