The man accused of stealing this house last year has pleaded not guilty. (submitted photo/RCMP)

By northeastNOW Staff

Trial date set in theft of house

Not guilty plea in case of missing house

Mar 13, 2023 | 3:10 PM

The man accused of stealing a ramshackle old house last summer has pleaded not guilty to a charge of theft under $5,000.

A trial date for Michael Raymond Malley has been set for July 27 in Melfort. His lawyer, speaking by phone, told Melfort Provincial Court he expects three witnesses to testify for the defence.

Crown prosecutor Wade Rogers said the Crown expects to call three witnesses as well.

Malley, who is now 33, was charged by RCMP after the house, which was mounted on a trailer, went missing from the Crooked River area in June of 2022. Court documents refer to it as a shed.

RCMP said it disappeared somewhere between midnight and noon on June 14.

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The house was found in a rural area near Nipawin in July.

Malley, who is from Codette, near Nipawin, also faces a charge of uttering a threat and assault with a weapon. RCMP say those charges were laid after a dispute with the owner of the house, the day after it disappeared. A court document says the weapon involved in the assault was the door of a semi-truck.

His lawyer said Malley is pleading not guilty to those charges as well, and a separate trial date of November 2 was set. Court was told the Crown expects to call three or four witnesses in that case.

Two other trial dates were set for matters not related to the theft of the house, and several other outstanding charges were scheduled to be back in court on April 3.

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doug.lett@pattisonmedia.com