Bail for man accused of assault

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This article was published 03/01/2022 (1542 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man accused of assault and attempting to pay off a witness was given a shot at bail on Thursday morning.

Elvis Higheagle is charged with a number of incidents over the course of 2021. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty and the charges have not been proven in court.

On Feb. 15, Higheagle allegedly entered a house in a Westman First Nation and stole several electronics, including game consoles, Crown attorney Jonathan Mays told the court. At the time, there were three children in the house, who hid in a bedroom when they heard him at the door.

Higheagle reportedly returned sometime later, Mays said, and got into an argument with the homeowner. The accused denied breaking in.

The victim alleged Higheagle returned a few days later and offered to pay him $1,000 not to charge him, Mays said.

Some of the stolen property was later found in a ditch, he said.

Then, on July 27, Manitoba First Nations Police Service received a complaint from a woman she was assaulted at a residence at approximately 10:30 p.m., the Crown said.

Officers responded the next morning and spoke to the woman, who reported she was drinking alone when Higheagle arrived and kicked the door open. He allegedly punched and kicked her in the face several times unprovoked. She ran next door for help and called police, Mays told the court.

The woman had a cut on her forehead, which Mays said was “more than a trivial injury.”

A few days later, on Aug. 8 at approximately 9:20 a.m., a man called police requesting officers remove Higheagle from his house, Mays said. The man said the accused was fighting with someone outside.

When officers arrived, Higheagle was passed out on the couch, he said. Police tried to put him in handcuffs, but he began to laugh and was allegedly not co-operative.

The alleged victim later reportedly told police the fight was an “unprovoked attack,” Mays said, adding it was not a consensual fight.

Higheagle is also accused of failing to comply with court-ordered conditions on several other occasions over the course of the year.

Mays opposed the accused being released on bail, saying the allegations, including that Higheagle tried to pay off a witness, should be taken extremely seriously.

Defence lawyer Norm Sims said Higheagle has issues abusing alcohol but is trying to deal with it. He said the man is motivated and is seeking residential treatment for his addiction. 

Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta said she was concerned by the pattern of the alleged incidents.

“None of it particularly sophisticated, all of it seems to be likely driven by an unmanaged alcohol problem, but that’s no consolation to the people who are being repeatedly allegedly victimized by Mr. Higheagle,” she said. 

Despite this, she said he appears to be motivated to make change and presented a good bail plan.

“It doesn’t seem to be just words,” she said. 

She released Higheagle on bail, but told him it is up to him to put in the work. 

» dmay@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @DrewMay_