By Chelsea Laskowski

Weapons charges dropped against man acquitted in 2010 killing

Dec 16, 2013 | 5:02 PM

On Monday afternoon, a resolution was reached before Spencer Dean Bird went to trial on weapons-related charges at the Provincial Court.

He pleaded guilty to a breach of conditions stemming from a previous conviction, but weapons-related charges were stayed.

Those charges included possession of a hunting knife and carrying a concealed weapon.

The man, in his mid-40s, has to serve 18 months, of which he has already served six.

This summer, Bird was found not guilty of all charges in a Prince Albert murder trial surrounding the death of Virgil Pelletier.

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Two days later, he was arrested and has spent the past six months in prison on those weapons-related charges.

How the charges came about

In court, Crown prosecutor Shawn Blackman shed light on the details surround those charges.

On June 23, 2013, Bird went to the door of a man he knew by association, Blackman said.

Bird appeared quite agitated as he told the man he had been followed by four guys in a vehicle who might attack him, Blackman went on to explain.

“He felt very strongly he was being targeted as a result of that [murder charge] acquittal,” Bird’s defense lawyer, Brent Little said.

Someone had given him a sheathed hunting knife for defensive purposes, Little said.

Bird carried that knife the distance from the sidewalk to the front door of the man’s house, he added.

At the door, Bird then pulled out a large sheathed hunting knife to give to the man. He knew that conditions of a previous offense forbade him from possessing any weapons and didn’t want to get in trouble, Blackman said.

Bird then asked the man whose house he was at to call the police. That’s when Bird was arrested.

Joint resolution

At Provincial Court on Monday, Blackman and Little came to an agreement.

“The reality of it was, the weapon charges… would have been somewhat difficult for the Crown to prove, but the one breach of the long-term supervision order for simply carrying the knife, the Crown had some chance of proving so we were able to reach a joint submission on the basis,” Little said.

The judge agreed with the joint submission, which was a request for Bird to spend 18 months in jail. He has already served six, which means he has 12 months remaining before he gets out.

Discussion between the judge, Blackman and Little revealed that Bird has spent his fair share of time in prison and has a lengthy criminal history.

claskowski@panow.com

On Twitter: @chelsealaskowsk