Man has 3 weeks to hire lawyer

A Lethbridge man charged nearly three months ago following an incident in which a police officer was injured and vehicles were damaged has been given three weeks to take a step or the court might do it for him.

John Elvis Jones was warned Thursday in Lethbridge provincial court that he has until Feb. 22 to hire a lawyer and plead to his charges. If he doesn’t, a judge may enter pleas for him.

Jones, 25, had previously been ordered to attend Thursday’s hearing with a lawyer, but he explained he had spent time in hospital, and when he was discharged, he was immediately arrested. He had just been released from custody and didn’t have time to hire a lawyer before his court appearance.

Jyi Mickell Trotter, 37, of Lethbridge, pleaded guilty Dec. 21 to several charges in relation to the same incident Nov. 11, and admitted he was driving a white pickup truck when he failed to heed a stop sign. When an officer attempted to stop him, he continued driving and tried to speed away but spun out on the ice.

Trotter, who had a passenger with him, lost control of the vehicle as he turned a corner and struck a curb. He then reversed into a parked car, but before he could drive away the officer used his cruiser to block his escape. He refused to exit the vehicle and had to be pulled out through the window.

Trotter admitted he knew the truck he was driving had been stolen, and that he stole $130 worth of meat from a northside store. He also pleaded guilty to breaching previous court orders.

He was sentenced to five and a half months in jail, but credited for the equivalent of 75 days spent in custody, leaving him with 90 days to serve. He will also be on probation for one year after he is released.

Jones was charged with breaching the conditions of a recognizance but released to appear in court later. He also faces unrelated charges from 2016 of possession of stolen property, trafficking in stolen property, and drug possession.