YARMOUTH, N.S. — Four people charged in connection with a brutal assault that was committed on a Yarmouth teenager in early January had court appearances on Feb. 19, although little took place.
Instead, all matters were adjourned to future court dates.
In January, the RCMP arrested five people as a result of an investigation into an assault that was committed on a 17-year-old girl in Yarmouth. Over a period of around three hours on Jan. 4, the RCMP say the girl was taken to several locations in the town and county and viciously beaten. She was eventually able to escape from a vehicle she was being transported in stopped at a stop sign. She ran to the nearby Your Winners' World convenience store seeking help. Staff there called 911.
There have been previous court appearances for two of the people who appeared before provincial court in Yarmouth on Feb. 19. For two others this was their first court appearance.
Two of the accused who have been in custody since the time of their Jan. 7 arrest – Trey (Jadelyn Kristi-Ann) Rhyno and Danesha Russell – were both scheduled for showcause/bail hearings, although these hearings did not take place.
Russell appeared via video from the correctional facility she has been remanded to since it was already known the matter could not go ahead on this day due to the unavailability of her lawyer. A new date of Feb. 25 was selected when she will appear in court in person, seeking to be released from custody.
Trey Rhyno did appear briefly in court, but the matter was adjourned to March 19. Rhyno’s lawyer indicated there was still disclosure (Crown evidence) yet to be filed with the defence. The matter was rescheduled to March 19, with Rhyno consenting to remand in custody until that date.
Russell and Rhyno, both 19 at the time of their arrest, are both charged with aggravated assault; assault with a weapon; unlawful confinement; conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and uttering threats to cause bodily harm.
Ashley Comeau, 19, of Salmon River, made her first court appearance, but the lawyer who is representing her did not.
Comeau is charged with aggravated assault; assault with a weapon (described in court documents as a metal bar); unlawful confinement and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence. She told the court she was expecting to have her lawyer representing her that day, but she also told Judge James Burrill her lawyer hadn’t answered her calls or responded to her emails in about two weeks.
Another lawyer in court offered to try to contact Comeau’s lawyer by phone but had no luck reaching him. An hour-and-a-half later, when the lawyer had still not shown up, Judge Burrill adjourned Comeau’s arraignment to March 11, suggesting to her if she isn’t able to get a hold of her lawyer in the next week she may want to consider different legal representation.
A fourth person, who was also making their first court appearance since being arrested, will return to court on March 19 for arraignment. Jacqueline Elizabeth Angell, 65, is charged with one count of assault with a weapon (identified on the charge before the court as being a six-inch blunt wood object) and unlawful confinement.
The fifth person charged in the case is a youth offender whose name is banned from publication due to Canadian law. She is slated to make her first appearance in court on Feb. 26.
The girl, 17 at the time of her arrest, is charged with aggravated assault; assault with a weapon; unlawful confinement; conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and uttering threats to cause bodily harm.
PREVIOUS STORIES ABOUT THIS INCIDENT:
Jan. 8, 2019: Investigation remains active as charges are laid
