A provincial court judge has ordered the arrest of a Prince George man after he failed to appear Thursday for a trial confirmation hearing related to allegations of animal cruelty.
Stephen Thomas Johnson, 55, faces three charges after 15 horses were seized from his Prince George-area ranch in January 2011.
When Johnson was a no-show Thursday, judge Randall Callan ordered an unendorsed bench warrant for his arrest with the intention of maintaining the current dates for trial.
After two previous delays, the matter is set to go to trial beginning Feb 17, and then continuing Feb. 25-28.
The matter had originally been set for trial in March 2013, but the case was reassigned to another judge because of a conflict-of-interest concern and a new date of Aug. 12 was set.
However, Johnson and his lawyer parted ways in the interim and he was more given time to find new counsel. Johnson remains self-represented, the court heard Thursday.
He faces one count each of causing unnecessary pain or suffering to an animal and failing to provide necessities for an animal under the Criminal Code and causing an animal to continue to be in distress under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
