BATTLEFORD – A trial date still hasn’t been set for a man arrested in a dramatic takedown by RCMP tactical officers flown in two CH-146 Griffon helicopters to an isolated cabin to rescue a girl.
The charges against 42-year-old Aaron Gardiner - who allegedly held a girl against her will in northern Saskatchewan – went from Meadow Lake Provincial Court in May 2020 to Battleford Court of Queen’s Bench. A pre-trial conference is now set for Jan. 21.
There have been numerous delays in Gardiner’s case because he has gone through about five lawyers, with some quitting or being fired.
Gardiner has been in custody since he was arrested last year after Île-à-la-Crosse RCMP received a call on April 23, 2020, that a girl was being held against her will for four days at a remote cabin across from Île-à-la-Crosse Lake.
Police were told the man had temporarily left the cabin so Île-à-la-Crosse RCMP patrolled the village of Île-à-la-Crosse trying to locate him. Police didn’t locate him in the village and came up with a strategy to cross the lake and get to the secluded cabin.
Île-à-la-Crosse Lake was covered in water and slush so the RCMP determined the only way to access the cabin was by air and they called in the Canadian Armed Forces and the Saskatchewan Emergency Response Team (ERT) to help. Within hours two Canadian Armed Forces CH-146 Griffon helicopters responded and flew the ERT tactical RCMP unit across the lake and landed beside the cabin. Police rescued the girl who only had minor bruising . She was flown back to her family in Île-à-la-Crosse.
Gardiner allegedly tried to flee from the cabin and resisted arrest. The RCMP deployed a Taser and he was treated in Île-à-la-Crosse for minor injuries.
Police seized firearms and drugs from the cabin.
Gardiner was charged with unlawful confinement, assault, overcoming resistance, uttering threats, resisting arrest, possessing a firearm for a dangerous purpose, use of a firearm in commission of an indictable offence, proceeds of crime, and possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Three months after his arrest, police added more charges after more alleged victims came forward.
The charges against Gardiner haven’t been proven in court.
