Lawyer looks to halt case against man involved in standoff

The lawyer for a man charged in connection with a standoff with police in Bay Bulls last year will seek to have the case against her client halted.

When the case of Leo Crockwell was called in Newfoundland Supreme Court in St. John’s Monday, Rosellen Sullivan told the judge she will file a pre-trial application to request a stay of proceedings.

If successful, it would mean proceedings against Crockwell would cease, although the Crown would have up to a year to revisit the case.

Deals with Charter

When questioned by The Telegram after Monday’s proceedings, Sullivan wouldn’t give details about the grounds of her application, but said it has to do with how the police handled the incident in Bay Bulls.

“It’s an independent issue that needs to be heard prior to the trial,” said Sullivan, adding that the application deals with Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“It needs to be addressed, how things unfolded.”

Crockwell — who was not in court for Monday’s proceedings — was arrested in December 2010 after he barricaded himself inside his mother’s Bay Bulls home for nine days. The house was surrounded by RCMP officers, but the 56-year-old managed to slip out undetected. He was picked up shortly afterwards by RNC officers a few kilometres away.

When he was first brought to court, Crockwell was denied bail. He remains in custody.

He was initially charged with several counts of attempted murder, since he allegedly fired a shotgun during the standoff, but those charges were eventually withdrawn by the Crown.

He is charged with discharging a firearm, mischief, using a firearm in the commission of an offence, careless use of a firearm and unauthorized possession of a firearm, uttering threats, assault, and assault with a weapon in relation to the standoff.

Crockwell also faces charges of uttering threats, assault and assault with a weapon, relating to an incident that allegedly involved his sister hours before the standoff.

His trial on those eight charges is set to begin Feb. 2 and is expected to last six weeks.

When Crockwell’s case was last called in court two weeks ago, Sullivan told the judge she would seek permission from the court to see a police file on her client from more than a decade ago.

Sullivan had planned to file an O’Connor (or third-party) application to obtain details of an incident involving Crockwell and the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary in 1998, when Crockwell was reportedly wrongfully detained at the Waterford Hospital for 140 days.

However, on Monday, Crown prosecutor Elizabeth Ivany told Justice Maureen Dunn the issue regarding that application has been resolved.

Sullivan later told The Telegram  she received the information she was looking for.

Lawyers will discuss the issue of the stay of proceedings Sept. 28. The case is due back in court Oct. 3.

rgillingham@thetelegram.com