2 accused in Coutts blockade plead guilty to lesser charges
Two of the four men charged with conspiracy to murder following the February 2022 Coutts border blockade have pleaded guilty to lesser charges, according to their lawyers and the Crown.
In a statement to Global News, the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service (ACPS) said Chris Lysak and Jerry Morin entered guilty pleas in a Lethbridge court on Tuesday to firearms related charges.
On Feb. 15, 2022, Alberta RCMP said Lysak and Morin, along with Chris Carbert and Anthony Olienick, were charged with conspiracy to commit murder, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and mischief, in connection with the blockade near the village of Coutts, Alta., earlier that month. RCMP also said Lysak was charged with uttering threats.
In an email, Lysak’s counsel Daniel J. Song said Lysak maintains his innocence regarding all the charges.
Song said Lysak pleaded guilty to possessing a licensed and registered handgun in a place that was not authorized and said that at the conclusion of the sentencing, all the charges of the indictment were withdrawn.
“To be clear, Mr. Lysak did not admit to possessing his handgun for a dangerous purpose. He did not attend the Coutts protests with the intent to harm anyone,” Song, who was hired by Lysak in November 2023, said. “He admits that his firearm was loaded with ammunition at the time of police seizure, but denies having loaded and chambered the gun.”
The ACPS said Lysak was sentenced to three years in prison, which was satisfied with his two years in custody. The Crown also said Lysek received a 10-year weapons prohibition, including providing DNA, and forfeiting the firearms he currently owns to another valid gun license holder.
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Greg Dunn, Morin’s counsel, said in an email that Morin “steadfastly maintained from the very beginning” that he was not party to any conspiracy to murder RCMP. Dunn said his client was “relieved and grateful” those charges were withdrawn by the Crown.
“Moreover the charge that Mr. Morin plead guilty to does not suggest that Mr. Morin at any time took firearms into Coutts, only that he agreed to,” Dunn said in the statement.
ACPS said Morin pleaded guilty to conspiring to traffic firearms.
The Crown said Morin received a 3.25-year jail sentence, which was satisfied by the two years already served and time spent in segregation. Like Lysak, Morin now has a 10-year weapons prohibition, was ordered to provide DNA and to transfer his firearms to another valid gun license holder.
Darryl Ruether, a spokesman for the Alberta Court of King’s Bench, confirmed to The Canadian Press that both men were released from custody.
Song and Dunn said their respective clients look forward to moving on with their lives.
The matter against the remaining two accused continues in a Lethbridge court with Justice Vaughan Hartigan in a jury trial.
–with files from The Canadian Press
&© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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