Fredericton man held on long list of charges
Joshua Glen Rushton, 32, will appear in court in custody Thursday for bail hearing
A judge had to raise his voice at a seemingly manic and loquacious defendant Tuesday to get him to stop talking so he could read the long list of criminal charges the man is facing.
Joshua Glen Rushton, 32, of Fredericton, appeared in provincial court by telephone Tuesday from the Fredericton police station after he was arrested on outstanding warrants.
“Am I getting let out of jail or no?” he asked the court almost immediately as he got on the telephone.
Judge Scott Brittain said they’d get to that issue soon enough, but first, he had to read the various charges Rushton was facing, as the proceeding marked the defendant’s first appearances on all those counts.
There were 13 charges in all spread out over various dates between last summer and this week.
Rushton kept interrupting as the judge read the counts, repeatedly insisting he should be released on conditions despite the fact there were two failures to attend court among his alleged offences.
“That’s enough!” Brittain bellowed at one point to get Rushton to stop interjecting.
The accused faces the following charges:
June 12 counts of theft from the southside Atlantic Superstore and breach of probation;
June 14 counts of theft of cab fare from Trius Taxi, an assault on Mohammed Awad by threatening to use a knife and a breach of probation;
Oct. 10 counts of mischief causing damage to a heat pump belonging to Dixie Lee Chicken and breach of probation;
a Dec. 7 failure to attend court
a breach of a police undertaking by failing to attend court Jan. 2;
and Jan. 8 counts of assault with a weapon (a staple gun) on Josh Somerville, an escape from the lawful custody of Const. Ryan Preston, theft of merchandise from the southside Canadian Tire and possession of a prohibited weapon (brass knuckles).
“There’s a lot of charges here,” said prosecutor Rodney Jordan, noting that consequently, the Crown was objecting to Rushton’s release.
Brittain remanded Rushton pending a bail hearing, which he scheduled for Thursday.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.
this guy needs to be examined by a psychiatrist before standing trial.