Four men charged in connection with the homicide of Tylor McInnis have had their cases adjourned until November.
Only one of the men had retained a private lawyer ahead of Wednesday’s hearing in Dartmouth provincial court. The other three were waiting on applications for legal aid.
READ MORE: Tylor McInnis death: 3 charged with 1st-degree murder
Pat MacEwen, lawyer for Nicco Smith, said they had not received much in the way of evidence disclosures form the Crown in the case.
“We’ve received very, very little information at this point in time so we’re gonna wait on that, review it when we receive it and make some decisions from there,” MacEwan said.
Officials won’t say what led to the break in the case and still aren’t saying how McInnis was killed.
McInnis’ body was found in the trunk of a stolen car in August in the cemetery of St. Thomas Baptist Church in North Preston.
That’s the same church that held the funeral of Naricho Clayton, who was fatally shot in April along Gottingen Street in Halifax. Sources say Shawtez Downey and Naricho Clayton were best friends.
READ MORE: Aftermath of Gottingen Street shooting that left one dead caught on camera
RCMP will not comment on whether there is a link between Clayton’s death and the killing of McInnis.
“What I can tell you is that we continue to investigate all the other unsolved homicides in Halifax and we know that there’s people out there, like I said, with information and anything that comes to us, we will investigate it thoroughly,” said inspector Trudy Bangloy.
Court records show Shawntez Downey, who is accused of first-degree murder, has previously faced charges for weapons offences, uttering threats and failing to abide by the conditions of a release order.
Nicco Smith and Judson Falls also have criminal records — records indicate Smith has been charged with both resisting arrest and failing to comply with conditions of a release order. Falls has previously been charged with failing to comply with order and faced drug charges.
All of the accused will have to apply to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court should they want bail.
“No one has indicated yet whether they’ll be seeking bail. Again, we’re really at a very preliminary stage so no one’s spoken about that,” said Crown attorney Melanie Perry.
All of the men have been remanded in custody at the Burnside Correctional Facility until their next court appearance. The crown says they are opposing bail in the interest of public safety.
“We’re at the point where we don’t think these people should be released into the community,” said Perry.
Shawntez Downey, Nicco Smith, Daniel Downey and Judson Falls are scheduled to return to court on November 2.
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