CALGARY — The Crown says it will oppose bail in the “unspeakable” hit-and-run death of a Calgary worker who tried to stop a driver from leaving a gas station without paying.
Joshua Cody Mitchell, 20, appeared on closed-circuit television Monday and the matter was put over until June 30 to give him more time to get a lawyer.
Mitchell faces charges including criminal negligence causing death, hit and run causing death, dangerous driving causing death and possession of stolen property, along with one count of theft of $113 in gas.
Gas station attendant Maryam Rashidi, 35, was hit by a stolen pickup truck June 7 while trying to stop the driver from leaving without paying.
She was struck and carried along on the hood before she fell off and was run over. She died in hospital Tuesday.
“My heart goes out to the family of the victim, Ms. Rashidi, in this matter,” said Calgary chief Crown prosecutor Lloyd Robertson.
“Her family is coping with a terrible loss, a terrible tragedy, an unspeakable tragedy,” he added. “This is a serious matter and I think it’s fair to say it’s shocked our city.”
Rashidi and her husband, Ahmed Mourani Shallo, emigrated from Iran a year ago. Both got engineering jobs in Calgary, but when the Alberta economy started to decline, they were laid off.
Rashidi took the job at the Centex station and had only been working there for a couple of weeks.
Mitchell was out on bail on charges of dangerous driving, possession of stolen property and driving without a valid licence that were laid at the end of January.
No application for bail in the alleged hit-and-run case has been made, but Robertson made it clear the Crown will not consent to it.
“The case is in its early stages but the charges are very serious, obviously, and the Crown is going to be opposing any release application that Mr. Mitchell may make.”
Robertson said the Crown has already received a “voluminous” amount of evidence from police in the investigation and more charges could be laid.
Alnoor Bhura, president of Centex Petroleum, has called on the Alberta government to adopt legislation that requires drivers to pay before they can use gas pumps.