‘No, there are no special circumstances’
Ryanne Joseph Pineda, 35, of Fredericton, pleads with judge for release on additional restrictions despite unavailability of his defence counsel
A Fredericton man accused of arson begged a court to release him for a second time on tougher conditions Thursday, but the judge said it was a choice of a bail hearing without his lawyer or an adjournment.
Ryanne Joseph Pineda, 35, of Sunset Boulevard, was scheduled to go through a bail hearing in Fredericton provincial court Thursday - his second this month.
He was charged with setting fire to his home the night of March 29 with reckless disregard for whether there were others inside at the time.
Pineda went through a bail hearing April 11 and was released on numerous conditions, and he had to deposit a $10,000 surety with the court that could be forfeited if he were to violate those conditions.
He was arrested and accused of doing just that Monday, as the Fredericton Police Force charged him with breaching the house-arrest provisions of his release order.
Duty counsel Gerald Pugh said Thursday that he was acting as an agent for Pineda’s defence lawyer, T.J. Burke and his firm. Pugh noted Burke is out of the province this week and sought to adjourn the bail hearing for a week, until his return.
Pineda, appearing by video-conference from remand in the Saint John Regional Correctional Centre, didn’t seem to want to wait to see if he could be released.
“I would like, if it’s at all possible, to add to my restrictions,” he said.
The defendant said he needed more help in managing his drug addiction, suggesting that an ankle monitoring bracelet and drug testing would help keep him on the straight and narrow.
“I’m able to pay for that,” Pineda said.
Judge Mary Jane Richards said she can’t consider any kind of release or additional conditions until she hears the bail hearing. At that point, she said, she had no evidence before her, and no release can even be contemplated until the bail hearing is held.
“Are there any special circumstances…?” Pineda asked.
“No, there are no special circumstances,” Richards said, cutting him off emphatically.
The judge said it comes down to whether the defendant wanted to proceed with his bail hearing without his counsel present Thursday, or if he wanted to wait for his lawyer.
Pineda opted for the adjournment.
Richards set the hearing over to April 27 and remanded the defendant again until that time.
Pineda was represented at his previous bail hearing by defence lawyer Emily Cochrane, an associate at Burke’s firm, the Burke Law Group.
At the conclusion of that April 11 proceeding, Judge Lucie Mathurin ruled the Crown had failed to show that Pineda’s continued detention was necessary, though the reasons for her ruling, as well as the evidence presented at the hearing, are subject to a publication ban.
The onus was on the prosecution in that proceeding to demonstrate why Pineda should be held, but at his second bail hearing, the burden of proof will shift to the defence.
When an accused is charged with an alleged breach of conditions after release, the law says it’s up to them to show why they should be released.
Among the conditions of that release order were to remain in his home save for limited exceptions, to abstain from alcohol and drugs, to have no association with people with criminal records and to co-operate with police when they come to his house to check if he’s complying with the order.
You can contact Don MacPherson at ftonindependent@gmail.com.