Teen accused in Irving robbery re-arrested
Bilijk First Nation boy arrested on warrant after he failed to attend court Nov. 14
A 14-year-old Bilijk (Kingsclear) First Nation boy who skipped his first non-custodial court appearance on robbery and other charges has been found and arrested once again.
The youth - whose identity is protected by the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act - appeared in Fredericton youth court by telephone Friday morning.
He’d previously been freed from custody subject to the conditions of a release order after being charged with several offences stemming from a dramatic attempted robbery at a downtown gas station Oct. 19.
The 14-year-old and another Bilijk First Nation boy, age 15, were both charged with attempting to rob the Irving/Circle K Convenience store at 181 King St., possessing a stolen 2018 Mercedes C300 and masking their faces during the Oct. 19 incident.
The 14-year-old faces related charges of indictable assault, uttering threats to cause death and/or bodily harm and violation of a police undertaking.
Following a bail hearing Oct. 23, the younger boy was released on conditions, while the 15-year-old was remanded pending the outcome of the charges.
The younger boy was scheduled to appear in youth court Nov. 14 to enter pleas to the charges, but contrary to the release order, he failed to appear, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Friday’s court appearance came as a result of the execution of that warrant, and Judge Natalie LeBlanc noted there were two new counts before the court.
She said the youth is now accused of breaching his release order by failing to remain at a Bilijk First Nation residence under house arrest Nov. 10 and again by failing to attend court as required Nov. 14.
Crown prosecutor Brett Stanford objected to the teen’s release and applied to revoke the previous release order.
LeBlanc remanded the boy to the New Brunswick Youth Centre in Miramichi and scheduled a bail hearing for Monday morning.
The 15-year-old - who faces separate but related counts of assault with a weapon (the Mercedes), dangerous driving, mischief causing damage to the gas station and breach of a youth probation order - is scheduled to enter pleas on the charges Dec. 20.
All charges arose as a result of an early-morning incident at the downtown Irving station Oct. 19 when the stolen Mercedes crashed through the doors of the business.
It was reported to police as an attempted robbery, and the incident caused severe damage to the facade of the business and forced its closure for a brief period.
The two underage suspects were arrested at the scene, police reported, and one person was taken to hospital for treatment of minor injuries sustained during the incident.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.