A man accused of attempted murder appeared in Moose Jaw Provincial Court on Wednesday as there was a change to who would be representing him.
Kyle Peeace appeared before Judge Daryl Rayner via video from remand, while lawyer Doug Andrews appeared via telephone. Kyle was charged with attempted murder following an alleged machete attack in downtown Moose Jaw on Sept. 28.
The matter was set down for trial on Jan. 25 and 26. However, Andrews told the court that Kyle wanted to obtain new counsel and was granted a request to withdraw.
Kyle told the judge he was going to represent himself, but Rayner strongly suggested that he reconsider. The accused said he wanted to find an Indigenous lawyer. Rayner raised concerns about whether a new lawyer would be prepared to go to trial on Jan. 25.
Rayner also asked Kyle if he could afford a private lawyer, to which he answered no, he would have to go through Legal Aid. Suzanne Lalonde from Legal Aid said because Andrews was a Legal Aid-appointed lawyer the client does not get a choice in counsel and there is not much more Legal Aid can do for him.
Kyle then backtracked and said he would represent himself. Rayner reminded Kyle that he is facing serious allegations.
“You don’t seem to be taking these matters very seriously,” Rayner told Kyle.
Crown prosecutor Rob Parker said the chances that the trial would move ahead on Jan. 25 and 26 was unlikely as his office had just received DNA reports. His initial game plan was to present what evidence they had on Jan. 25 and 26 and set a future date to finish the trial.
“It’s a complex matter that is growing more complex by the day,” Parker told the court.
Parker also raised concerns because there were a couple of witnesses that the Crown would not consent to Kyle cross-examining, and the Crown would want a court-appointed lawyer to cross-examine those witnesses.
Parker said it was not in Kyle’s best interest to represent himself. However, Rayner said Kyle has the right to make his own decisions.
The matter was adjourned to Jan. 11 to settle any outstanding issues and potentially set it for case management.
Dillon Peeace was also arrested and charged with attempted murder stemming from the same incident on Sept. 28. Lawyer Brian Pfefferle appeared via telephone in Moose Jaw Provincial Court on Wednesday on Dillon’s behalf.
Pfefferle said he was meeting with his client to get instructions and was asking for a short adjournment. Rayner filled Pfefferle in that Kyle had dismissed his lawyer and was “ambiguous” about how he was going to deal with the matter.
For transparency, Parker told the court that there were concerns because Kyle and Dillon were not jointly charged but they could be charged jointly depending on the results of Pfefferle’s discussions with his client.
Because of that, Dillon’s matter was also adjourned to Jan. 11 so that both matters could be spoken to on the same day.
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