Woman accused of driving while high on drug
Shawna Eveleen Decoste, 33, of Kings County, says police never told her what substance they suspect was in her system at time of September 2022 incident
A New Brunswick woman says she’s seeking legal counsel on a charge of impaired driving causing bodily harm in the capital region, and she’s in the dark as to what drug she’d allegedly taken at the time.
Shawna Eveleen Decoste, 33, of Upper Springfield Road in Springfield, N.S., made her first appearance in Fredericton provincial court on a Sept. 20, 2022, charge of causing bodily harm to Carter Bailey while operating a vehicle while impaired by a drug.
Decoste told the court she was confused about the charge, noting it had been more than a year since the events unfolded, and she was never arrested for it.
She said she’d since gone to Nova Scotia, but the police recently showed up with a summons for court on the 2022 charge.
Decoste said she’d applied for legal aid for representation on the charge, but was informed the service doesn’t provide counsel for such charges.
She’s trying to find a lawyer privately, she said, because she doesn’t understand how this came up after so much time.
The defendant said police never told her what drug they believe she was using at the time of the incident that gave rise to the allegation.
Judge Henrik Tonning said she should retain counsel, because that lawyer can obtain disclosure of the Crown file, and the answers she’s seeking will be contained in that documentation.
He set the case over to Nov. 22 to give her time to do that.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.