After being committed to stand trial on four charges in provincial court in Corner Brook on Wednesday morning, Colin Wheeler refused to participate in a second preliminary inquiry that afternoon.
That led to the preliminary inquiry going ahead in his absence and it concluded with Judge Wayne Gorman issuing a committal to stand trial on the two other charges.
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In the morning the court dealt with five charges that stemmed from an October incident in Benoit’s Cove, where Wheeler had been living.
He was charged with assault, assault with a weapon, uttering threats to police to cause bodily harm and two counts of mischief.
Wheeler, who is representing himself, appeared by videoconference from Her Majesty’s Penitentiary in St. John’s and did call his girlfriend, the alleged victim in the assault, as a witness.
When the hearing ended Gorman decided there was enough evidence for Wheeler to be tried on all but the charge of uttering threats to police to cause bodily harm.
The afternoon hearing was on two breaches of court orders for having contact with his girlfriend and another woman listed as a victim on the court information after being ordered not to.
Wheeler had previously elected to be tried by judge alone in the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador. He is expected to appear in that court for arraignment on Feb. 5.
