Robbery suspect rants over slow pace of case
Kyle Joseph McKay, 38, of Lower Kingsclear, who’s accused of holding up convenience store with a screwdriver, finds himself without defence counsel
A suspect in a Hanwell convenience-store holdup ranted in court Friday over the lack of progress in his case, frustrations that also led his defence lawyer to drop him as a client.
Kyle Joseph McKay, 38, of Route 102 in Lower Kingsclear, appeared in Fredericton provincial court Friday by telephone from the Saint John Regional Correctional Centre.
He faces three indictable charges, alleging he robbed Scholten’s Convenience in Hanwell, carried a screwdriver for the purpose of committing an offence and masking his face during a crime, all on April 22.
Hampton defence lawyer David Lutz, who was representing McKay on a legal aid certificate, asked the court to remove him as counsel of record for the defendant.
“To quote Mr. McKay, we got off to a bad start,” Lutz told Judge Scott Brittain.
The defence lawyer informed court that after speaking with his client, he’d informed him he wouldn’t represent him and had already returned the certificate to the Legal Aid Services Commission of New Brunswick.
“I’m just beyond frustrated,” McKay said.
Lutz said the issue holding up the case was disclosure. He said he’d requested the Crown’s file in McKay’s case, but it hasn’t been ready yet. That was the source of the rift between him and the defendant, the lawyer said.
Crown prosecutor Nina Johnsen said the RCMP had prepared disclosure in the case, but it hadn’t been properly vetted when it was filed with her office. As such, she said, it had to go back to the police.
“That obviously does take some time,” the prosecutor said, adding she doesn’t have a specific date when it’ll be ready.
Brittain told McKay he understood why he was irritated with the process.
“Obviously, you want to move your matter along,” he said.
McKay has been in custody since his arrest several weeks ago. He pleaded with the court to release him on conditions given the issues that have arisen.
“I’m losing everything in my life,” he said, and he pleaded with the judge to give him another chance at being released on conditions.
“That ship has sailed,” Brittain told him, noting the defendant already went through a bail hearing, when a judge ruled his continued detention was justified.
The judge said there are processes through which the defendant can challenge that decision, such as an appeal or the automatic detention review that occurs after 90 days. He told McKay legal aid can assist him in navigating those avenues.
But McKay said he’s been having trouble getting new counsel through legal aid, noting he’s been directed to go through an appeals process after he parted ways with Lutz.
“Legal aid won’t provide me with any help, sir,” he said. “This isn’t justice at all.”
Brittain said the parties will need a little more time to arrange disclosure and to secure new defence counsel, so he was adjourning McKay’s case for a couple more weeks.
“A couple of weeks?” the defendant said incredulously.
The judge set the matter over to June 12, and ordered that McKay would continue to be remanded.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.