ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Nicholas Gardias showed up for his trial in provincial court in St. John’s Monday morning and left 15 minutes later with a warning from the judge.
The 34-year-old was scheduled to go to trial on a slew of drug charges — 10 counts of trafficking and eight counts of possessing a controlled substance — but as Judges James Walsh took the bench, defence lawyer Tim O’Brien indicated he wanted to withdraw from the case.
O’Brien said he was unable to proceed because he had not been able to make contact with Gardias to prepare for trial.
This is the second time Gardias’ trial has been postponed for the same reason.
“I don’t want any excuses,” Walsh told Gardias.
“I don’t have any excuses, Your Honour. I’m only here for trial,” Gardias replied.
“I understand that, but your lawyer is not prepared to assist you,” the judge said. “The only way your lawyer can help you is if you stay in touch with him. I can set a new trial date and if the same thing happens, you won’t be allowed to go to trial, if it’s before me.”
Gardias is bound by a release order that bans him from having a cellphone. He said it made contacting O’Brien difficult.
Walsh didn't accept that, telling Gardias to use a family member’s landline or a payphone.
“You can use a public phone. Put in 25 cents and make the call.”
Walsh denied O’Brien’s application to withdraw as defence counsel, saying he would wait and see what happened on the new trial dates, Jan. 4 and 5.
“Are those dates OK for you?” the judge asked O’Brien and prosecutor Brenda Boyd, in an attempt to co-ordinate schedules.
“There’s nothing preventing me from taking those dates, unfortunately,” O’Brien said with a chuckle.
Boyd left the room briefly to confirm that her first three witnesses, who were waiting to be called into the courtroom to testify, were able to make the January dates.
Gardias also has an assault charge before the court, for which he hasn't yet entered a plea.
Gardias was arrested in February 2019 after the RNC executed a search warrant at a residence on Empire Avenue and seized prescription pills and cash valued at about $7,000. He is no stranger to the courts or to Walsh, who sentenced him seven years ago to 10 months behind bars for fraud and court order breach convictions.
A man reported to police that he had lost his wallet somewhere in the Memorial University area, and investigators later discovered Gardias had used the man’s credit card at a number of businesses to buy cigarettes, alcohol, chocolate and pre-paid VISA cards to the tune of $863.
In an unrelated incident, a man was at his downtown home watching TV when he heard the noise of one of his house windows being smashed. He ran downstairs and found Gardias, who showed the man his bleeding hands and told him he was being chased by people who were trying to kill him. Gardias left after telling the homeowner he was going to a nearby coffee shop to clean up.
When police officers located Gardias at the coffee shop, he told them what he had done and said he was high on cocaine. Police took him to the hospital for treatment of his injuries and charged him with being in the man’s home unlawfully.
In February 2010, Gardias was convicted of a smash-and-grab theft from a downtown jewelry shop two months previously. He had walked into the store carrying a piece of asphalt in a sock, used it to smash a glass case and took off with a tray of rings valued at $680. Two store employees chased Gardias and a man who had entered the store with him and held the door, managing to recover the rings.
For that crime, Gardias was sentenced to 20 months in jail.
With files from Rosie Mullaley
Tara Bradbury reports on the courts and the justice system in St. John's
