The man charged in connection to a May 12 homicide in North Battleford made another appearance in provincial court Tuesday.
Michael Jordan White, a.k.a. Michael Jordan Frank, appeared by phone before Judge Murray Pelletier for a scheduled bail hearing in North Battleford court. But this appearance was brief, as White’s matters have been adjourned to Aug. 13 at 11 a.m. via CCTV, again in North Battleford provincial court.
He is remanded to that date; a no-contact order covering a number of individuals is also in effect for the murder charge.
White appeared Thursday on four charges — one count of second degree murder stemming from the May 12 incident, as well as three separate counts of failure to appear. His latest charge was one where he is alleged to be at large on a release order and failing to report to supervisors stemming from May 20, and that was read in court Thursday.
The Crown elected Thursday to proceed by summary conviction on the three failure-to-appear counts, while the murder count is indictable by law.
There is an issue with the name that appeared on the informations before the court: the accused is referred to by the last name “Frank”, but he indicated by phone that his legal name is “White.” (He was also referred to as "White" in the news release from the RCMP last week following his arrest.) For the time being, the Crown is not seeking to amend the name on the informations.
While his next appearance on Aug. 13 is scheduled for a show cause hearing, that only applies to the failure-to-appear counts; any bail hearing for the murder count would have to go to Queen’s Bench.
White did not have counsel at his Thursday court appearance. He indicated he would be retaining a private lawyer from Alberta.
According to police, on Tuesday, May 12, 2020, at approximately 4:07 p.m., Battlefords RCMP received information from EMS of an adult male located inside a residence with significant head trauma, located on the 800 block of 110th St. in North Battleford.
Police and emergency services responders found 38-year-old Todd Levi Stone unconscious. He was transported to hospital in Saskatoon and pronounced dead on May 13.
On that date police learned about an altercation between Stone and another adult male.
Saskatchewan RCMP Major Crimes Unit-North sent a team to North Battleford and began an investigation, with assistance from North Battleford Provincial General Investigative Section.
White was arrested July 8 by Strathcona County RCMP in Alberta without incident and made his first court appearance on July 9.
