In a surprise twist, a Saskatoon prosecutor stayed the charge mid-trial against a man accused of possessing $25,000 worth of missing Alberta cattle.
On Wednesday afternoon, Paul Scott stayed the charge against Alvin Hamm after hearing from two witnesses in the morning. Scott said he made the decision “because there was no likelihood of a conviction.”
Hamm was charged after 10 animals were found in a pasture near Martensville, just north of Saskatoon.
“There were going to be a lot of questions involving who actually had the legal title to the cattle that were involved in this case,” said defence lawyer Logan Marchand.
“The complainant’s testimony was frail with respect to whether a crime had actually been committed.”
In February 2023, the Alberta RCMP livestock investigations unit was contacted after 20 cattle were reported missing from a herd in Thorhild, about 80 kilometres north of Edmonton.
The cattle were traced through an auction mart in Lloydminster to a property near Martensville. Hamm was eventually charged with possessing stolen property.
The trial for the 48-year-old began Wednesday morning before Judge Inez Cardinal in Saskatoon provincial court.
Under questioning by Scott, auction mart owner Len Hrehorets — the complainant in the case — described how he bought out the feeder contract from Hamm’s partner in Alberta. Feeder associations will lend money to cattle producers so they can buy animals to fatten and eventually sell, paying back the association at a set date.
Hrehorets said that when he went to check on the 46 cattle, there were only 26 in the herd.
“He (Hamm) claimed that half had died and were in the manure pile,” he said.
Hrehorets contacted RCMP Cpl. Lindsey Anderson with the livestock investigation unit, who tracked the cattle to Saskatchewan.
They were identified by their Alberta livestock brands.
Investigators recovered 10 cattle from a pasture near Martensville. The other missing animals were not found.