Homeless man denies break-in, sex assault
Joshua Daniel Grant Burden, 48, of Fredericton, now represented by defence counsel, said little during court appearance save to confirm not-guilty pleas on several charges
A homeless man from Fredericton who has loudly and disruptively professed his innocence on numerous criminal charges was quiet Thursday as his lawyer entered not-guilty pleas on his behalf.
Joshua Daniel Grant Burden, 48, of no fixed address, appeared in Fredericton provincial court by video from the Saint John Regional Correctional Centre on Thursday to answer to varied charges dating back to the spring.
He’s been in custody since early June, but his case has made little headway due to disruptive and disrespectful behaviour on his part during most of his previous appearances.
But Burden was quiet for Thursday’s proceedings.
The following Fredericton Police Force charges were before the court for election of mode of trial and pleas Thursday:
April 19 counts of break, enter and theft at City Auto on Main Street; and theft of a motor vehicle belonging to Nicolas McPhee;
a June 6 charge of sexual assault on a woman whose identity is protected by a court-ordered publication ban;
June 7 counts of uttering threats to Eric Lanteigne and Terri-Lynn Stewart to cause them death and/or bodily harm; and breaching a police undertaking to have no contact with the complainant from the sexual-assault charge;
and related counts of probation violation.
Defence lawyer Joshua Adams said for the various indictable charges, his client was electing to be tried in provincial court and pleading not guilty to all counts.
Judge Mary Jane Richards scheduled Burden’s trial on those matters for March 15 and 27, and she remanded the defendant again until that time.
Burden faces other charges that arose after he was remanded and arising from his volatile behaviour in court this summer.
He’s accused of uttering threats and intimidating a justice-system participant June 19, stemming from angry comments he made to Fredericton provincial court Judge Scott Brittain during a decision on bail that didn’t go Burden’s way.
Given a local judge is the complainant in that prosecution, Nova Scotia provincial court Judge Diane McGrath, based in Sydney, is presiding over that case.
Since Burden was unco-operative in his appearances before her earlier this fall, she entered a default election of trial by Court of King’s Bench judge and jury.
McGrath scheduled his preliminary inquiry in that case for Jan. 18 to determine if there’s sufficient evidence to set the matter over for trial at the higher level of court.
Burden - who repeatedly demanded to be released from custody since that June 19 appearance before Brittain - told the judge, “If you keep fucking with me, you should be worried about what I’m going to do to you.”
When Brittain denied him bail, Burden yelled, “I’ll meet you in the parking lot at the courthouse and punch your fucking face off!”
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.