ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Police arrested Kenny Green on Nov. 25 and charged him with assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon and breaching a release order. He made a quick appearance in provincial court by phone from hospital the next day and another one a week later, when he entered not guilty pleas, and a trial date was set for Jan. 26.
When the case was called to start Tuesday morning, the Crown made an application for a postponement, saying the trial date had arrived before all evidence had been collected. In particular: DNA swabs that are currently undergoing analysis at the federal RCMP lab in Ottawa, with the results expected by the end of February.
The DNA is reportedly connected to the alleged weapon: a hammer.
Related
- Kenny Green appears in St. John's court by phone from hospital
- Search for assault suspect at Empire Avenue home comes up empty
“Mr. Green is not disputing that there was an altercation, however he does not agree with the comment that he hit anyone with a hammer,” defence lawyer John Hartery told Judge Mike Madden, indicating Green wanted to go ahead with the trial as scheduled.
Prosecutor Tannis King said she and Hartery, who had recently taken over the case, had only had the chance for a brief discussion about the matter before court.
“I don’t know what’s being conceded and I may have to adjust my witness schedule,” she said.
She indicated there may be “some streamlining” to the case before trial.
“Our discussions may dictate the amount of time needed for trial, whether or not we need to wait for DNA results,” she said.
Madden granted the Crown’s application for a postponement, setting the case to return on Thursday for a status update.
Green, who attended court Tuesday in a wheelchair, with one foot bandaged, has been held in the special handling unit at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary since he was taken into custody, Hartery said.
The RNC had been looking for Green for three days before his arrest, after a man in his 40s was assaulted at a home on Goodridge Street in St. John’s and sent to hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. A 42-year-old man was arrested in connection with the assault and Green was determined to be a second suspect.
Officers surrounded a home at 374 Empire Ave. the day after the assault, upon receiving information Green was there. The RNC asked area residents to stay inside their homes and diverted traffic while they contained the residence. An occupant of the home let police inside, RNC spokesman Const. James Cadigan said at the time.
“We were able to enter the residence and successfully clear the home. The suspect was not located at that home,” he told The Telegram.
Officers had made contact with the suspect, he said.
The next day police issued a public request for information on Green’s whereabouts, asking people not to approach him. They located Green riding as a passenger in a vehicle on Campbell Avenue a day later and arrested him on nearby Hamilton Avenue.
Green, 42, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2014 for the beating death of 47-year-old Joey Whalen in a home on Tessier Place a year earlier. He was sentenced to six years behind bars.
While in prison, Green was beaten in a planned attack by other inmates in the chapel at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary that saw them attempt to cover surveillance cameras before swarming him, assault him with a broken pew and stab him with a shank, leaving him with permanent injuries.
Green sued the provincial government for negligence over the chapel riot and received a $45,000 settlement in 2018.