Christmas tree farm fined $12,000
Snokist Ltd. of Hartford was fined $12,000 on Aug. 22 for a workplace accident in Gordonsville in 2022 when an employee of the Christmas tree farm was injured while being run over by a trailer.
Snokist was charged under the Occupational Health and Safety Act with allowing a person to ride on a vehicle not designed for passengers and failing to take every precaution to ensure the safety of employees due to an accident at a tree harvesting operation on Nov. 9, 2022. The company pleaded guilty to the first charge, and the Crown withdrew the second charge.
Defence Counsel Peter Crocco told the court the company had used the trailers for 40 years without incident. He said the trailers operated five inches above the ground and travelled at just three miles per hour. Employees were transported on the trailers to work sites that were often too muddy, icy or slippery for walking.
Snokist is a family-owned and operated wholesale business employing 50 people.
When the accident occurred, the court heard that a group of workers were riding on trailers being pulled by a tractor. Ten employees were on the first trailer and seven were on the second, while the third trailer was empty.
A man in his 30s was riding on the middle trailer when it hit a stump rounding a corner. He fell off the back and was run over by the trailer behind, suffering broken ribs and a dislocated leg. The tractor stopped, and the trailer was moved off him.
Crocco said workers were advised to hang onto the stakes on the trailers from a standing position. No trees were being hauled on the trailers. The worker who was injured was not a long-term employee and never returned to the job.
In rendering her decision, Judge Anne Marie Richard said the trailers appeared to be a “somewhat archaic” system for moving workers to and from a job site.
Richard said the fine should be more than just an operating expense for Snokist to absorb. However, since she did not have specifics on the company’s financial position, she followed the Crown’s recommendation for $10,000 plus a victim’s surcharge of $2,000.
Snokist had one prior conviction under the Occupational Health and Safety Act involving a wood splitter.
House arrest, probation
Amy Moulton, 48, of Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation), received six months of house arrest and 12 months of probation when she appeared in provincial court for sentencing on Aug. 20. Judge Karen Lee also imposed a one-year driving prohibition.
Moulton pleaded guilty to impaired driving and failing to stop at the scene of an accident following an incident on Sept. 28, 2024, at Neqotkuk. The Crown withdrew a third charge. She had a limited prior criminal record with one previous conviction for impaired driving.
Judge Lee also ordered Moulton to enroll in a treatment program for alcohol abuse.
Moulton was charged after police received a report of a vehicle causing four minor collisions while travelling through the community one day in an erratic manner. Police stopped Moulton in her driveway and advised her that she had been in an accident. Her blood alcohol reading was over twice the legal limit.
Suspended sentence, probation
Kortney Boyer, 32, of Carlingford, received a suspended sentence and 12 months of probation when she appeared in provincial court for sentencing on Aug. 20 about an assault charge.
RCMP charged Boyer with assaulting a female victim stemming from an incident on March 18, 2024, at Bairdsville. She pleaded guilty but failed to return to court for sentencing on April 1. A warrant was issued, and she appeared in court in custody on May 28. She was released with conditions until her sentencing on Wednesday.
Jacksonville man awaiting trial
Craig Laskey, 35, of Jacksonville, appeared in provincial court on Aug. 20 for a pre-trial conference after pleading not guilty to three charges laid by the RCMP. His trial date was confirmed for Sept. 24 at 9:30 a.m., and the pre-trial conference was adjourned to Aug. 28 at 9:30 a.m.
Laskey was charged with sexual assault for an incident on Aug. 14, 2024, in Jacksonville and assault by choking and mischief on Aug. 21, 2024, in Bedell.
Guilty plea upheld
Caleb Crain, 42, of Piercemont, appeared in provincial court on Aug. 20 for a hearing about his application to withdraw his guilty plea on charges laid by the RCMP.
Crain was charged with assault causing bodily harm to a female victim, unlawful confinement, and uttering threats following an incident on Dec. 10, 2022, near Florenceville-Bristol. He pleaded guilty to the lesser included offence of common assault and guilty to uttering threats. The Crown withdrew the confinement charge.
A sentencing date was set for April 9 when Crain requested a hearing to withdraw his guilty plea. He failed to return to court on May 29 for the hearing, and a warrant was issued. Crain then had a bail hearing and was released with conditions.
On Aug. 20, Judge Karen Lee heard his testimony about his application and ruled his guilty plea would be upheld. A new sentencing date was set for Oct. 14 at 9:30 a.m.
Crain also returns to court on Sept. 9 at 9:30 a.m. for plea on other charges laid by Woodstock Police. He was charged with carelessly transporting a firearm, possession of a firearm without a licence (a semi-automatic rifle), and being an occupant of a vehicle knowing it carried a gun, following an incident on June 19 in Woodstock.
Trial adjourned
Paige Catherine Weaver, 32, of Weston Road, appeared for trial in provincial court on Aug. 22 after pleading not guilty to an impaired driving charge.
Woodstock Police charged Weaver in connection with an incident on May 11, 2024, in Woodstock. Her trial was adjourned until Dec. 19 at 1:30 p.m. with the consent of the Crown. Weaver told the court she would be representing herself at her trial.
Released with ankle bracelet
Timothy Canam, 45, of Johnville, appeared in provincial court in custody by video on Aug. 22 for a bail hearing. He was released with conditions, including house arrest and the requirement to wear an electronic monitoring device attached to his ankle. He returns to court for plea on Sept. 9 at 9:30 a.m.
Canam was remanded into custody for a 30-day mental health assessment at the Restigouche hospital and was found fit to stand trial.
He did not challenge the results of his medical report.
He was charged by the RCMP with two counts of uttering threats on June 6 at Johnville; resisting arrest, assaulting a police officer and assault causing bodily harm to a police officer on June 9 in Johnville.
Bail hearing scheduled
Cole Paul Smith, 30, of Johnville, appeared in provincial court in custody by video on Aug. 21 to answer charges laid by the RCMP. He requested a bail hearing, so his plea was adjourned until after the hearing on Aug. 29 at 9:30 a.m.
Smith was arrested on a warrant on June 30. He told the court he now wants to go to a rehab facility.
RCMP charged him with breaching a release order by violating electronic monitoring and mischief, causing damage to his ankle bracelet, following an incident on June 24 at Mapledale. He was also charged with flight from police, breaching his house arrest and dangerous driving for an incident on June 29 at East Brighton.
Smith appeared in provincial court in custody by video for a bail hearing on May 1 and was released with conditions, but returned to custody. He faces an additional charge of breaching a no-contact order on May 29.
Woodstock Police also charged him with assault with a weapon (a metal stool) and two counts of uttering threats on April 10-11 in Woodstock.
RCMP charged him with assault involving a female victim, unlawful confinement, and two counts of uttering threats concerning another incident between Nov. 15 and Nov. 30, 2024, in Johnville. He was ordered to have no contact with the complainants.
Smith also appeared in provincial court on April 8 and pleaded not guilty to three other charges laid by the RCMP. His trial date was set for March 30, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. He was charged with uttering threats, assault by choking and unlawful entry at a dwelling house on Oct. 22, 2024, at Johnville. The court heard his trial date will have to be moved up if he remains in custody.
Arrested on a warrant
Dana Spencer, 42, of Fredericton, appeared in provincial court in custody via teleconference on Aug. 22 after being arrested on a warrant for failing to attend his sentencing hearing this week.
Spencer pleaded guilty to breaching an undertaking (no contact order) on April 24, 2024, at Maplehurst, and guilty to refusing a breathalyzer demand concerning a separate incident on Aug. 19, 2023, at Florenceville-Bristol.
He was released with conditions, and a new sentencing date was set for Sept. 2 at 1:30 p.m.
Failed to appear
Chandler Spittle, 22, of Perth-Andover, appeared in provincial court in custody via teleconference on Aug. 22 after being arrested on a warrant for failing to attend court. He was released with conditions and returns to court for plea on Sept. 9 at 9:30 a.m.
Spittle was charged by the RCMP with possession of counterfeit money (a $100 US bill) and using counterfeit money in connection with an incident on Dec. 24, 2023, at Johnson Settlement. He was scheduled to enter a plea on Jan. 17, but failed to appear.
Trial adjourned to December
Mitchell Hillman, 36, of Wilmot, appeared for trial in provincial court on Aug. 21 after pleading not guilty to charges laid by Woodstock Police. His trial was adjourned until Dec. 17 at 1:30 p.m. with the consent of the Crown.
Hillman was charged with assault involving a female victim and uttering threats concerning an incident on Sept. 16, 2024, in Woodstock. He returns to court on Sept. 2 at 9:30 a.m. for a monitoring hearing about his trial.
Hillman was also charged with dangerous driving, flight from police and obstruction for an incident on March 13 in Woodstock. He pleaded not guilty, and a trial date will be set at his next court appearance on Sept. 2.
Hillman was also charged with driving while prohibited on Feb. 12, 2024, in Woodstock and mischief causing property damage to a truck on Feb. 16, 2024, in Woodstock. His trial was set for Sept. 5.
He appeared in provincial court on June 26 and pleaded guilty to stealing copper wire from the former tourist bureau at Richmond Corner. His sentencing was set for Oct. 6 at 1:30 p.m.
Hillman was charged with breaking and entering, but pleaded guilty to the lesser included offence of theft in connection with a break-in at the tourism building on Feb. 19, 2024. A co-accused, Michael Holt, 68, of Riverglade, pleaded not guilty and will stand trial on Sept. 3 at 1:30 p.m.
Released with conditions
Timothy Brian Wheelan, 37, of Jacksonville, appeared in provincial court in custody by video for a bail hearing on Aug. 22. He was released with conditions and returns to court for plea on Sept. 16 at 9:30 a.m.
Wheelan was charged with two counts of uttering threats against a female victim and breach of a peace bond concerning an incident on Aug. 12 in Woodstock. He also faces two other counts of uttering threats for incidents on March 17 and April 10 in Woodstock.
Wheelan, Kurtis Stenger, 33, of Fredericton, and Samuel Robert Crewe, 31, of Jacksonville, appeared in provincial court on Aug. 19 to answer drug trafficking charges laid by the RCMP.
Crewe appeared in custody by video. Stenger told the court he was just released from jail in Saint John and was wearing an ankle monitor.
The three men were each charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of cocaine, both for the purpose of trafficking, in connection with incidents between June 1 and June 13 in Jacksonville.
They return to court for plea on Sept. 16 at 9:30 a.m. Crewe is also facing a slew of other separate charges.
Trial continues on sex charge
Cole Tweedie, 30, of Greenfield, will appear in provincial court on Dec. 4 at 9:30 a.m. for the continuation of his trial after pleading not guilty to a sex charge laid by the RCMP.
Tweedie was charged with sexual assault in connection with an incident on June 11, 2022, near Beechwood. A pre-trial conference will be held on Oct. 28 at 1:30 p.m. Two days of trial hearings were already held in May and June.
