Bilijk man denies firearms charges
Callum James McGraw, 36, has yet to complete legal-aid application, court hears
A Bilijk (Kingsclear) First Nation man facing serious firearms allegations entered not-guilty pleas Friday without having secured legal counsel yet despite previous adjournments to allow him to do so.
Callum James McGraw, 36, of Geegan Street, appeared in Fredericton provincial court Friday to face six indictable charges, most stemming from illegal possession of firearms.
He elected to be tried in provincial court on the indictable charges and pleaded not guilty to possessing a .22-calibre Cooey rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun knowing they were stolen, possessing them while he was prohibited by a court order from having weapons, possessing them without a licence and possessing them knowing he didn’t have a licence to do so.
He also denied related charges of possessing other stolen property - a pellet gun, chainsaw and tool set belonging to Chris and Hollie Spillman, and being at large before the expiration of a sentence.
All charges allege events in Taymouth on May 10.
The at-large count indicates he was subject to a federal prison term at the time as well.
The case had been adjourned several times to give McGraw time to retain defence counsel, but at his last court appearance, a judge told him there’d be no further delays without plea.
McGraw, who isn’t in custody pending the outcome of the case, said he doesn’t have counsel yet but that he’d been in touch with the firm of Fredericton criminal defence lawyer T.J. Burke.
He said he’d call the office, but after being told Burke could take his case, he was informed he’d have to pay a retainer.
“I wasn’t expecting to have to do a retainer,” McGraw said, noting he thought he’d be able to hire Burke under a certificate from Legal Aid New Brunswick.
He said he’s on social assistance and is eligible for legal aid.
But duty counsel Melinda Ponting-Moore said there’s a noteworthy obstacle with regard to legal aid.
“He hasn’t completed his application for legal aid yet,” she said.
Until he does so, Ponting-Moore said, it’s not known if the legal-aid services commission will approve a certificate for outside counsel or if his file will be assigned to a legal-aid staff lawyer.
Judge Natalie LeBlanc set the matter over to Dec. 22 for a case-management conference and to see if McGraw has managed to get representation on the serious charges.
Those weapons offences would draw a likely federal-prison sentence in the event of convictions.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.
another criminal released despite the many crimes he is charged with. why is this???? does it have something to do with them being Indigenous? and if so, why?????????