Murder suspect needs to get new lawyer
Travis James Snowsell, 26, of Penniac, had been represented by Fredericton lawyer T.J. Burke, but he declared conflict on Corey Christopher Markey murder file Tuesday
A Penniac man charged in a December 2021 fatal shooting in Fredericton found himself without legal counsel Tuesday, as his lawyer told court he had a conflict.
Travis James Snowsell, 26, of Penniac Road, faces a second-degree murder charge in the death of Corey Christopher Markey, 21.
He and a co-accused - Joshua John McIsaac, 33, also of Penniac Road - were charged jointly in the homicide case in late June.
The matter was back in Fredericton provincial court Tuesday afternoon, as Fredericton criminal lawyer T.J. Burke, who’d been retained as Snowsell’s defence counsel last month, said he’d run into an issue in the case.
“I have to be removed as counsel of record for my client, your honour,” Burke told Judge Lucie Mathurin.
He said he’d taken on Snowsell as a client under a legal aid certificate, but after some discussion, he realized he couldn’t continue as his lawyer due to a potential conflict.
“Not an actual conflict, but a perceived conflict,” Burke said.
He didn’t detail the nature of the conflict.
However, Burke said he’d been in contact with Saint John criminal defence lawyer Brian Munro, who expressed a willingness to take on the case in his place.
Burke said he’d advised staff at the Legal Aid Services Commission of New Brunswick of that development, and he expects the agency will issue the certificate to Munro.
Snowsell, who appeared in person in court Tuesday as well, and he acknowledged that Burke had advised him of the issue that had arisen.
Mathurin, after confirming that, granted Burke’s motion for removal.
No disclosure yet
McIsaac was also present in court for Tuesday’s proceedings.
He’s represented by Saint John defence lawyer Nathan Gorham, and Alexandra Youssef, an associate from Gorham’s firm, was on hand to act as his agent for Tuesday’s proceedings.
Youssef told the court her firm is still waiting on disclosure from the Crown on the Markey murder file.
“We have not received anything,” she said, noting she’d been advised by the prosecutors’ office it hadn’t received a file from the Fredericton Police Force as yet.
McIsaac and Snowsell are currently serving federal prison sentences on unrelated charges, and both are incarcerated at Dorchester Penitentiary.
Court heard previously they’d been cellmates at the New Brunswick prison, but upon being charged in Markey’s murder, a judge imposed a no-communication order between them, requiring Correctional Service Canada to separate them in the institution.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, they were kept in custody on opposite sides of Courtroom No. 5 at the Justice Building. However, they were held in the same cellblock at the courthouse before and after their court appearance, and they were transported from the building in the same van.
Markey, 41, was shot on Paul Street in Sitanisk (St. Mary’s) First Nation on Fredericton’s north side at about 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 21, 2021. He succumbed to his injuries in hospital eight days later.
McIsaac is also charged in another murder case. He and Erica Blyth, 40, of Wasson Road in Newcastle Creek near Grand Lake, face a joint first-degree murder charge stemming from the Jan. 28, 2022, death of Brandon Patrick Donelan.
McIsaac is represented by Gorham on Donelan murder case as well, and Burke represents Blyth on that file.
Youssef and Burke told the court they hadn’t received disclosure in that case either.
As Blyth’s next court date is set for Sept. 6, Mathurin set McIsaac’s and Snowsell’s matters to that date as well.
Authorities, including the RCMP, launched a significant search of the Minto and Chipman area for Donelan, 27, after he was reported missing to police Jan. 30, 2022.
His body was found in a wooded area along a snowmobile trail in the Grand Lake area March 31, 2022.
Blyth and McIsaac are also barred from contact with one another until the case against them concludes.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.