A first-degree murder trial for a Nova Scotia man will go ahead in April as planned.
Lawyers for Adam Joseph Drake, 33, had argued that the murder charge should be stayed because the case has taken too long to get to court.
In an oral decision delivered Thursday morning, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Timothy Gabriel disagreed.
He rejected the so-called 11-B application by Drake’s lawyers. That number refers to the section of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms dealing with unreasonable delay. They are also referred to as Jordan applications, referencing the Supreme Court of Canada decision which set firm timelines for cases. For a Supreme Court, the time limit is 30 months.
The COVID-19 pandemic weighed heavily in Gabriel’s calculations as it disrupted court cases across Canada. The judge noted that the delays caused by the pandemic were beyond the control of the courts or Crown prosecutors and shouldn’t be counted as part of the overall delay in the case.
Drake was charged with murder in the 2016 death of Tyler Keizer, who was shot while sitting in an SUV on Gottingen Street in Halifax on Nov. 21, 2016. He died later in hospital.
Drake was originally to stand trial on the murder charge in October 2021, but the Crown stayed the charge at the 11th hour.
The murder charge was reinstated in November 2022. By that time, Drake was facing an additional charge of first degree murder relating to the stabbing death of battle rapper Pat Stay, who was stabbed during a confrontation outside a downtown Halifax bar in September 2022. Stay died later in hospital.
Drake was arrested a week after the stabbing and charged with murder.
Drake’s trial in the case of Tyler Keizer is scheduled to begin on April 2. His trial in the case of Pat Stay is set for September.
