A preliminary hearing will be required for a Rocky Mountain House youth who is set to become the first young person to be tried by a jury in Central Alberta.
The 15-year-old elected earlier to be tried by a judge and jury on a charge of attempted murder and robbery.
The youth, whose identity is protected under terms of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, returns to youth court on Thursday to set a date for the preliminary hearing, which would be held in Rocky.
He appeared briefly in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench on Monday. He remains in custody.
A preliminary is held to determine if there’s enough evidence to warrant the accused stand trial in Queen’s Bench.
The Crown said in September it wanted to sentence the youth as an adult if he’s convicted.
He was charged in early September following an incident on the Sunchild First Nation reserve west of Rocky.
The youth’s lawyer Patty MacNaughton elected the mode of trial based on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which stipulates that anyone in jeopardy of receiving a sentence of five years or more has the right to a jury trial.
The maximum sentence for youths on any charge is seven years in jail.
The maximum adult sentence for attempted murder is life in jail.
Rocky RCMP said they responded to a complaint of a robbery and theft of a vehicle during which a female was dragged out of the vehicle and injured.
About an hour later, the vehicle was located and a male was stabbed in the chest during a confrontation.
jwilson@www.reddeeradvocate.com