A Deer Lake man awaiting retrial on a charge of attempted murder will have to remain in custody until that trial happens or until there is a further order from the court.
Alex Normore was sentenced to nine years in jail for attempted murder, uttering a threat to cause death and breaking and entering a dwelling while committing an attempted murder in May 2016. His sentence was reduced by just under three and half years for the time he served in custody following his arrest.
The charges were alleged to have occurred on March 1, 2014 when Normore broke into a man’s home carrying a large flashlight.
Normore appealed his convictions to the Court of Appeal of Newfoundland and Labrador and in February the court quashed the convictions and ordered a new trial.
At the time, Normore was remanded in custody until a judicial interim release hearing could be held.
That hearing took place on April 30. The court’s decision on that was delivered orally on May 2 with the written decision filed on May 8.
In the decision Chief Justice Derek Green concluded that there is some risk present that Normore will commit an offence if released. And although Normore says he will stay away from his victim, the judge feels he would, if released, have difficulty resisting any obsessions he may still have respecting the man and others mentioned by him as targets for his displeasure.
The Crown is appealing the order for a new trial to the Supreme Court of Canada and that appeal, if unsuccessful, could delay the retrial by at least six months. That means the retrial might not be heard until well into 2019 or early 2020.
While Green agreed that was a matter for concern, he said is depends on a number of speculative assumptions — that the appeal will be unsuccessful and that the retrial will result in an acquittal on the attempted murder charge.
But Green said none of that can be predicted with any degree of accuracy. If the appeal is unsuccessful, Normore would have the ability to reapply for bail if it is then known that the retrial will take a long time to resolve.
Green said a review of his detention after the result of the appeal is known or for other appropriate reason is the better way to deal with this potential concern.
