A man charged in relation to three Sudbury murders, who also escaped from Sudbury Jail earlier this year, was in court today, but rather than a chance to set a date for trial, the matter was postponed again.
An articling student who appeared on behalf of Joel Roy’s defence attorney, Toronto lawyer Alison Craig, told Justice Peirre Bradley the attorney needed more time, and asked for an adjournment. Though Crown Jose Rodriguez noted how long the case had been waiting to go to trial, Bradley agreed to it, and adjourned the case until Feb. 1.
Roy, who did not appear in court but is still in custody, is facing charges related to several murders; on Jan. 11, the intention was to set a trial date for the charges related to the death of 31-year-old Emad Ali.
Greater Sudbury Police put out a press release in January, 2023 saying they were concerned for the well-being of Ali, who had last been seen in the Sudbury area in October to November of 2022.
On April 14, 2023, police detectives located Ali’s body in a wooded area off Dryden Road in Greater Sudbury. Police believe that he was murdered in November 2022 and his body was dumped in the wooded area.
Roy is the co-accused along with Kevin Lamoureaux.
Roy is charged with murder, indignity to a body, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and unauthorized possession of a firearm.
Lamoureaux is charged with murder and indignity to a body. His trial date will also be set on Feb. 1.
Roy was already in custody when he was charged with Ali’s murder. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder for a shooting at the Travelodge Hotel in December, 2022. Two men, 27-year-old Javon Bryce and 38-year-old Matthew Saroka, were killed in that shooting.
Roy also faced weapons charges and possession for the purpose of trafficking charges as it is believed that he was trafficking illicit drugs out of the hotel at the time of the incident.
Also while he was in custody on this matter, Roy escaped the Sudbury District Jail sometime on June 17, 2023, and was not taken into custody by Greater Sudbury Police until shortly after 6 p.m. June 19.
The solicitor general's office told Sudbury.com at the time that they had launched an internal investigation into how Roy managed to get away.
They have thus far refused to comment on the results, stating in an email, “the ministry will not provide further comment regarding the investigation as it can compromise the security features of the Sudbury Jail.”
Roy will next be in court Feb. 1 to set a trial date.
Jenny Lamothe is a reporter with Sudbury.com.