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Adjournment request denied in Arens trial

A Red Deer contractor’s request to adjourn his trial date was turned down in Red Deer provincial court on Wednesday.

A Red Deer contractor’s request to adjourn his trial date was turned down in Red Deer provincial court on Wednesday.

Rodney Ross Arens, who is scheduled to have a lengthy trial in spring on charges arising from a fatal crash in 2010, is also scheduled for trial in January on additional charges laid since the initial incident.

The second set of charges include breaching release conditions, missing a previous court date and driving without a licence. Arens, 36, asked Judge David Plosz on Wednesday to adjourn the trial date on the newer charges, saying he needed more time to get a lawyer. Plosz denied the request, stating that Arens had already had plenty of time to seek counsel and that his trial will go ahead as scheduled.

Arens is due in Red Deer provincial court on Jan. 10 for trial.

He returns to Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench on April 22, opening day for a jury trial on charges laid after a fatal collision in Red Deer on July 1, 2010.

Anouluck “Jeffrey” Chanminaraj died and his older brother and sister, Jamie and Stephanie, were injured in a collision at the intersection of Kerry Wood and Taylor Drives.

Arens is charged with impaired driving causing death, impaired driving causing injury, dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing injury.

His trial on those charges was originally scheduled for six weeks, starting on March 25. However, the trial dates were cancelled in January when Arens fired his lawyer.