HALIFAX – The case of two people accused of plotting an attack at a Halifax shopping mall returned to provincial court Tuesday, where lawyers discussed the possibility of delaying the start of a preliminary hearing.
Twenty-three-year-old Lindsay Kantha Souvannarath of Geneva, Ill., and 20-year-old Randall Steven Shepherd of Halifax each face charges including conspiracy to commit murder.
Souvannarath appeared via video link for Tuesday’s brief hearing while Shepherd did not appear.
The Crown alleges the offences involved the Halifax Shopping Centre and were carried out in concert with James Lee Gamble, a 19-year-old man found dead in his Halifax home. A Crown document alleges the offences took place between Jan. 6 and Valentine’s Day.
A preliminary inquiry is scheduled for June, but Judge Anne Derrick said it will be decided at the next appearance on May 22 whether it needs to be delayed until July because Shepherd’s lawyer had just received some disclosed documents from the Crown.
Crown attorney Shauna MacDonald told court she would be applying to have certain police documents unsealed to allow her to vet and disclose them to the defence.
She said the “information to obtain” documents are the affidavits that officers bring before a judge to seek search warrants. They spell out why police believe they have sufficient evidence to support a warrant.
However, if the documents contain sensitive information, the Crown can have them resealed to prevent public disclosure, MacDonald said.
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