Plea adjourned in attempted murder case
Riley Cowper, 20, of Limestone, appeared in provincial court in custody by video on Oct. 18 for plea on an attempted murder charge following an alleged violent attack on another local man.
Defence Counsel T.J. Burke told the court he had received a disclosure of evidence from the crown, including video surveillance, but needed more time to review it. Judge Karen Lee adjourned Cowper’s plea until Nov. 13 at 11 a.m.
RCMP charged Cowper with attempted murder by using a hammer and a wrench to assault Rodney Butler, mischief causing property damage to a car window, uttering threats, and robbery of a vehicle in connection with an incident on Aug. 10 at Jackson Falls.
He was arrested on Aug. 13 and ordered to have no contact with Butler, who police said was treated at hospital for injuries and later released. On Oct. 18, Cowper’s defence counsel waived his bail until later.
Cowper is also facing a separate charge of assault with a weapon (a hammer and tire iron) involving another man on March 23, 2022. That trial was adjourned to Dec. 16 at 9:30 a.m.
Trial in March on drug trafficking charge
Mohammed Karam Abualhawa, 24, of Fredericton, appeared in provincial court on Oct. 18 for a hearing about his trial in March on a drug trafficking charge.
Abualhawa was charged by RCMP with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking following an incident on Feb. 21, 2023, at Wotstak (Woodstock First Nation). The charge was laid in connection with a search of a vehicle. His trial was rescheduled for March 6-7, 2025, and March 13, 2025, at 9:30 a.m.
As the hearing got underway on Friday, Defence Counsel T.J. Burke agreed to an undertaking with the crown and disclosure issues were resolved with consent pending trial. Burke told Judge Karen Lee he had received a “characterization” of what disclosure was still forthcoming from the crown and was satisfied that a motion for a stay of proceedings was not required at this time. However, if full disclosure was not provided before the trial, Burke said he would file a new application for a stay. The disclosure Burke is waiting for involves information about the police investigation.
Released with ankle bracelet
Brandon Levesque, 26, of Gordonsville, appeared in provincial court in custody for a bail hearing on Oct. 18 after being arrested on new charges. He was released with conditions, including house arrest and wearing an electronic monitoring device attached to his ankle. He returns to court for plea on Nov. 5 at 9:30 a.m.
Levesque will be residing at a residence in Wapske. He was charged by RCMP with breaching his release order (curfew), assault involving a female victim, assault by choking and assaulting a police officer in connection with an incident on Oct. 11 in Gordonsville.
He also appeared in provincial court on Sept. 24 for plea on other charges laid by RCMP. The matter was adjourned until Nov. 5 at 9:30 a.m. at the request of his defence counsel.
Levesque appeared in provincial court in custody by video on Sept. 5 for a bail hearing and was released with conditions. RCMP charged him with breaking into a dwelling house and mischief causing property damage to a door on July 30 in Plaster Rock and assault with a weapon (a rock) involving a female victim on July 28 in Plaster Rock.
Neqotkuk couple released with conditions
Jennifer Louise Paul, 45, and Nicholas Charles Paul, 46, of Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation), appeared in provincial court in custody on Oct. 16 for a bail hearing. They were released with conditions, including wearing electronic monitoring devices attached to their ankles.
They were each charged with breaching their house arrest concerning an incident on Sept. 26 in the community. A hearing about the breach allegation will be held on Nov. 7 at 1:30 p.m.
Jennifer Paul was sentenced in September to three months of house arrest. She pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen vehicle, obstructing police, and possession of a firearm (a rifle) without a licence for an incident on Dec. 3, 2021, at Neqotkuk.
Nicholas Paul was ready for sentencing on other charges when he was arrested on Oct. 15 along with his wife.
He had already spent several months in custody after pleading guilty to breaching a release order by failing to follow the conditions of electronic monitoring (ankle bracelet) for an incident on May 1 at Neqotkuk, and guilty to possession of a stolen vehicle and breach of probation concerning another incident on June 29, 2023, in Woodstock.
Paul was also sentenced to 12 months of house arrest after pleading guilty to a series of other charges laid by RCMP. His house arrest commenced when he was released from custody.
He has a new sentencing date of Nov. 26 at 1:30 p.m. on three remaining charges of flight from police, and break, enter and theft at a storage shed following an incident on Sept. 4, 2022, at Perth-Andover. He changed his plea to guilty. Paul had a limited prior criminal record.
Arrested and released
Braeden Paul Thornton, 28, of Hartland, appeared in provincial court in custody on Oct. 16 for a bail hearing. He was released with conditions, including wearing an electronic monitoring device attached to his ankle. He returns to court for plea on Nov. 5 at 9:30 a.m.
Thornton was arrested by RCMP on Thanksgiving weekend on charges of breaching a peace bond, uttering threats, assault, assault by choking, theft, and breaching an undertaking. He was remanded to await his bail hearing.
Returning for plea
Kyle Carter, 30, of Jacksontown, will appear in provincial court on Nov. 5 at 9:30 a.m. to answer a charge related to a break-in five years ago in Wakefield.
RCMP charged Carter with break, enter and theft at a dwelling house on Route 103 in Wakefield on Aug. 21, 2019. He made his first court appearance on Oct. 8 when the matter was adjourned for plea until Nov. 5 at 9:30 a.m.
Bairdsville man charged
Aaron Hughes, 28, of Bairdsville, will appear in provincial court on Nov. 19 at 9:30 a.m. to answer a shoplifting charge.
RCMP charged Hughes with theft from a grocery store in Perth-Andover on June 25. He made his first court appearance on Oct. 8 when the matter was adjourned for plea to the new date.
Charges withdrawn
Billy Joe Tucker, 42, of Bath, appeared in provincial court in custody for a bail hearing on Oct. 16 after being arrested on a warrant. He was released from custody, and the charges against him were withdrawn.
Tucker was charged with two counts of uttering threats against another man for an incident on July 11, 2022, near Carlow. He was scheduled for sentencing on Feb. 21, but his guilty plea was struck down, and a trial date was set. An arrest warrant was issued when he failed to appear in court for monitoring.
