Yellowknife man's guilty plea to be withdrawn after miscommunication, says lawyer
CBC
A Yellowknife man whose lawyer expected his client to plead guilty to fraud charges decided not to, in N.W.T. territorial court on Monday.
Molson Romie is facing charges for allegedly forging cheques that deposited money from the North Slave Correctional Complex's (NSCC) Inmate Trust Fund from December 2019 to February 2020 into various bank accounts.
His lawyer, Jay Bran, told the court there must have been a miscommunication as he believed his client had previously agreed to plead guilty. He says Romie is now asking for translation services, but didn't specify for which language.
The plea scheduled for Monday morning at the Yellowknife courthouse was delayed until the afternoon so Romie could speak with Bran.
When the hearing began, Crown prosecutor Madison Walls listed the charges Romie was facing; they included altering several cheques issued to an associate of Romie by the NSCC's Inmate Trust Fund, and depositing them into two other associate's bank accounts.
But when Romie was asked how he plead, he stood and told the court that he was only responsible for bringing the cheques to his associates.
He said he never forged the cheques or deposited them himself.
Bran then called for another adjournment to speak with Romie.
When they returned, Bran told the court his client could no longer plead guilty as he did not admit to the charges.
Romie will appear in territorial criminal court again on Dec. 13, where an application will be made to withdraw the plea deal.
According to an RCMP press release, Romie was one of four people facing fraud charges for allegedly depositing $23,407.92 into various bank accounts in a series of 36 altered cheques.
There's stiff competition among prospective home buyers in the St. John's region because the number of listings are unusually low and demand is surging.
Strong attendance and record sponsorship at the Northern Ontario Tourism Summit in North Bay is a good sign the industry is recovering from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, says Destination Northern Ontario.
A group of Halifax residents is asking the Nova Scotia Supreme Court to look at a provincial decision to greenlight a controversial Fall River development.
Parkside Drive is closed in both directions following reports of a sinkhole, Toronto police say.
The Quebec government will present its fall economic update today.
Aggressive patients and lack of security are making nurses feel unsafe in a rural Western Manitoba emergency union, says the Manitoba Nurses Union.
Saskatoon resident Delynne Bortis knew her commute to work Tuesday morning would be particularly difficult.
WARNING: This story contains details of abuse and intimate partner violence:
The amount of money it takes for people to earn a living wage has increased across the province, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The new owner of Ontario steelmaker Stelco says his company "will not disappoint the people of Hamilton and Nanticoke," where the business's major facilities are based.
A Winnipegger is warning others about an intricate scam she says she almost fell for.