Another lawyer has withdrawn from the case of an Alberta man facing separate trials on charges of uttering threats and first-degree murder.
Joshua Petrin, 31, is alleged to have uttered threats while he was in custody awaiting trial in the death of Lorry Santos, a Saskatoon woman who was fatally shot in a case of mistaken identity.
Petrin is accused of ordering two men to kill a former Alberta gang member who lived in Saskatoon, though it's alleged they got the wrong address and killed the mother of four, who was home on maternity leave.
Petrin was scheduled to continue his uttering threats trial, being heard by a judge alone, when his legal aid lawyer asked the judge to remove him from the case because Petrin did not want to proceed with the trial.
Via a phone call from a remand centre in Edmonton, Petrin asked for a mistrial because he said he felt the Crown had "baited" him into listing his murder-related charges, arguing those allegations would prejudice his current trial.
Judge Marty Irwin denied his request for a mistrial, saying it "doesn't come as a surprise to the court" the accused is facing other, more serious charges and therefore it has no bearing on the threats trial.
Irwin told Petrin to have another lawyer by March 18.
Petrin also changed lawyers leading up to his first-degree murder trial in Saskatoon, which had been scheduled for November 2014.
According to the Crown, it was adjourned to September 2015 in order to give Petrin's new lawyer time to review the file.
Randy O'Hagan has already been convicted of first-degree murder in Santos' death and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. He has appealed his conviction.
(CKOM, The Canadian Press)
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.