Police charge 5th person in PWC attempted murder case, youth has outburst in court
Bail hearing could be set at next court appearance on April 25
A 17-year-old male is now the fifth person charged with attempted murder after a vicious attack on a student at Prince of Wales Collegiate in St. John's last month.
The youth — who cannot be named — was arrested Tuesday. He's accused of being a party to the attack, but not the primary attacker.
On top of the attempted murder charge, he's been charged with aggravated assault, assault with a weapon and breaching the conditions of an existing youth sentence.
The teen appeared by phone from a youth detention centre Wednesday morning. His court appearance began with him addressing Judge Pamela Goulding as "your honour" and telling her he understood the charges against him.
Things turned hectic, however, as Crown prosecutor Nicole Hurley read out a lengthy list of names of people the youth cannot contact while in custody. The 55 names include witnesses to the alleged attack, the co-accused, and the victim and his family.
As Hurley neared the end of the list, there was an audible bang and someone could be heard yelling the F-word.
A voice came over the speaker, saying the youth had been taken to his room because of his behaviour.
"It's no longer safe for him to be in the room," the woman said.
He could be heard in the background, screaming expletives for the next few seconds.
In the end, the judge set his case over until Tuesday for a status update, at which point a bail hearing may be set.
Among the five people arrested, four are under the age of 18 and cannot be named due to automatic publication bans in the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The participant considered an adult in the eyes of the court is 18-year-old Tyler Greening.
The attack left the victim bloodied and badly injured, and sent shock waves through the school. Students told CBC News afterward that it left a lot of their peers struggling with their emotions. The school held a rally in late March to begin a road to "recovering and healing," according to school principal Carla Roberts.