Jury trial set in double-shooting case
Blake R. Holt, 23, of Fredericton, has been in custody after being charged in alleged robbery involving firearms at Hanwell Trailer Park that prompted major police response
A Fredericton man accused of wounding two others with a firearm in a robbery at a Hanwell mobile-home community will stand trial before a jury next spring.
Blake R. Holt, 23, of Forest Hill Road, faces charges of discharging a firearm at Daniel Gallant and Corey Vaillancourt with intent to wound, maim, disfigure or endanger their lives; robbing Gallant of jewelry and keys; and masking his face during an offence.
The allegations stem from events at two residences in the Hanwell Trailer Park in the early-morning hours of Dec. 2 that saw numerous officers from the Fredericton Police Force and RCMP descend on the community.
Holt also faces other counts as a result of the events of that day, including flight from police in Harvey, theft of gas in Beaver Dam, dangerous driving, possession of a stolen 2012 Honda Civic, possession of a prohibited weapon (a 22-calibre rifle) without a licence, possession of the gun with readily accessible ammo capable of being discharged, occupation of a car in which he knew there was a prohibited firearm and breach of a release order barring him from driving.
The defendant elected earlier this year to be tried before a Court of King’s Bench judge and jury, and the case was on the docket for King’s Bench motions day Tuesday to schedule that trial.
Justice Thomas Christie confirmed the 15-day jury trial was set to begin April 15 at the Burton Courthouse, with a pre-trial conference set for Nov. 2.
Holt has been in custody since his arrest late last year and appeared in court Tuesday by telephone from the Southeast Regional Correctional Centre in Shediac. He’ll remain in custody until the case concludes.
The defendant asked Tuesday to appear in court in person for the Nov. 2 pre-trial conference.
Also charged in the case was Jesse Michael Joe, 41, of Angelview Court in Fredericton, who’s accused of assaulting Daniel Gallant with a weapon (a two-by-four), pointing a firearm at him, uttering threats, robbing Gallant while armed with weapons, and robbing him while armed with a prohibited 22-calibre rifle.
He opted to have his case heard in provincial court, and it got underway last month, opening with a hearing to challenge a search warrant that led to the seizure of evidence in the case.
However, Joe’s Charter challenge of the search failed in late August when a judge ruled he didn’t have standing to oppose a search of a property where he wasn’t residing at the time.
Joe’s trial is set to resume Dec. 6, and he remains in custody as well.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.