The case of a man charged in 2019 with four counts of assault has been delayed yet again and will stretch into 2025.
Jon Duncan, the lawyer for 56-year-old Mareano Glen Bekolay, appeared in Prince George Provincial Court on Thursday, Nov. 28 when Judge Peter McDermick agreed to a Crown application for another delay.
Charges were sworn against Bekolay on May 16, 2019, alleging he committed assault in Prince George on four days in 2019: Jan. 2, Feb. 1, April 5, and April 12.
Bekolay pleaded guilty to one count, the April 5, 2019 incident, before McDermick in September 2019, but applied just over a month later to withdraw that guilty plea. He changed lawyers, the plea-reversal application was approved in November 2021 and the guilty plea nullified.
The case proceeded with a pretrial conference before Christmas in 2021 and a trial began in September 2022, but has not concluded. Last April, a judge ordered Bekolay to undergo a mental health assessment.
Bekolay, who is not in custody, was deemed fit to continue on Sept. 20. The trial was scheduled to resume Thursday, Nov. 28, but for an issue with the Crown’s evidence disclosure to the defence.
The online court registry shows court time is booked on two dates in 2025: Jan. 23 and March 31.
