HARBOUR GRACE, NL — An appearance at Harbour Grace Provincial Court to discuss sentencing options for a man convicted of breaking into the mall in Carbonear did not go as planned Wednesday.
That’s because 38-year-old Robert Noftall, who was convicted last October following a trial in Harbour Grace, announced he had decided to fire his lawyer, Michael Ralph.
Noftall was found guilty of breaking and entering with intent and possessing a break-in instrument following a trial in Harbour Grace. Those charges resulted from an incident at the Trinity Conception Square Shopping Mall Feb. 21, 2016. According to a police news release, two men from St. John’s, Noftall and Kenneth Rees, forcefully gained entry to the mall early that morning and failed to get inside a jewelry store.
In court Wednesday, Noftall, who is currently in custody at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary in St. John’s, said his family agreed to retain a private lawyer to represent him. Crown prosecutor Paul Thistle acknowledged Noftall was planning to appeal his conviction, but added that process could not begin until after his sentencing. The case was in court Wednesday for lawyers to discuss a pre-sentencing report prepared on Noftall. His case returns to court May 9.
Kenneth Rees, 40, was convicted in connection to the same incident. He was sentenced Jan. 29, 2018, to three years in prison and fined $400.
SEE RELATED: