Man accused in fatal Halifax shooting to stand trial in April 2024

A Nova Scotia man facing two counts of first-degree murder will go to trial in 2024 on one of those charges.

Adam Joseph Drake, 31, was charged after Tyler Keizer was shot in north-end Halifax in November 2016. The 22-year-old man died later in hospital.

A lawyer for Drake appeared Thursday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court to set dates for the trial, which is scheduled to begin April 2, 2024, and run until May 3.

That was the earliest time-slot available for the five-week jury trial.

Drake was originally supposed to stand trial in Keizer's death last year, but the Crown withdrew the charge just before the trial was scheduled to begin after saying there was no longer a reasonable prospect of conviction.

Accused in Pat Stay killing

The charge was resurrected after Drake was accused of killing Dartmouth battle rapper Pat Stay in September of this year.

The 36-year-old Stay was stabbed outside a bar in downtown Halifax and died later in hospital. Drake was charged a week after the stabbing and has been in custody ever since.

Drake's lawyer, Stan MacDonald, is objecting to the way the murder charge in the Keizer case has been reinstated. The Crown preferred an indictment, meaning the charge has been sent straight to trial without a preliminary inquiry.

MacDonald said he wants to challenge the process before the trial. No date has been set for that or other pre-trial motions to be dealt with.

A preliminary inquiry on the Stay murder charge is scheduled for next September.