ANTIGONISH: An Antigonish women who faces several charges including attempted murder and assault with a weapon following an incident on Cloverville Road is scheduled to return to court on May 4.
Raylene Dewan, appeared by the way of designation of Legal Aid’s Robert Jeffcock in Antigonish Provincial Court on April 6. Judge Bill Digby granted an adjournment.
“We’re still waiting on some disclosure relating to this file,” Jeffcock said. “I also understand that it’s going to be referred out to another office, so I’d ask that this matter be adjourned.”
In addition to the attempted murder and assault with a weapon charge, Dewan also faces two counts of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm; uttering threats to property; resisting arrest; dangerous operation of a conveyance; impaired operation of a conveyance; refusal of a blood demand; flight from police; and mischief over $5,000.
RCMP said they charged the 60-year-old on March 9, at approximately 6:30 a.m., after responding to a report of a woman ramming her car repeatedly into a man’s car on Cloverville Road in Antigonish.
According to a press release, the police learned that before this, the woman had allegedly been ramming her vehicle into the man’s truck parked at a home.
“The victim, a 55-year-old man, got into a second vehicle in an effort to leave the area,” the release stated. “And the woman began ramming the vehicle he was driving.”
Responding officers located the woman’s vehicle leaving the scene on Cloverville Road and attempted a traffic stop, however the woman refused to stop and fled.
“The RCMP members that responded observed the vehicle driving away from the scene and travelling away from the members,” Cpl. Chris Marshall wrote via email. “The members caught up to the vehicle, engaged their emergency lights and sirens in an attempt to get the vehicle to pull over, however it refused. The woman didn’t get past the members; she simply continued driving away from members until her vehicle became immobilized.”
A short time later her vehicle became immobilized due to the damage.
“Officers attempted to arrest the woman, but she refused to unlock her vehicle doors,” the press release said. “Officers then broke one of the vehicle’s windows and removed the woman from the vehicle. The woman continued to resist arrest but was safely arrested a short time later.” No one was injured during the initial incident or the arrest.
Through continued investigation, officers determined the woman may be under the influence of drugs and demanded that she provide a blood sample for analysis, in which she refused.
RCMP also determined that the woman had assaulted an 82-year-old man, a family member of the victim, prior to ramming the victim’s vehicle on Cloverville Road.