Accused in white powder scares awaits bail decision

Other than a few whispered conversations with her lawyer through the glass of the prisoner’s box, Alexa Emerson sat quietly during a bail hearing Wednesday in Saskatoon Provincial Court.

Details about evidence presented at the hearing are subject to a publication ban.

Emerson, 31, currently faces a total of 83 charges.

She was first charged in October 2016 with criminal harassment and public mischief stemming from a video given to Saskatoon police, which police said was staged to make it appear as though Emerson had been tied up and abused.

More counts were added after five suspicious packages were delivered to various Saskatoon businesses in late November 2016.

From there, Emerson remained in custody until January, when she was released on $5,000 bail. At that time, she was facing just under 20 charges.

She was arrested again in April and accused of continuing to orchestrate white powder scares and email bomb threats while out on bail. She’s been in custody ever since.

Speaking outside the courthouse Wednesday, Crown prosecutor Jennifer Klaxton-Viczko said she was pushing to have Emerson remain locked up ahead of trial.

“She added another 60 charges while she was released. So all of the 2017 suspicious packages, all of those charges, as well as the bomb threats are after her release. It’s clear that she is relentless and just will not stop,” Klaxton-Viczko said.

Klaxton-Viczko said she felt custody was the only option available to prevent any further harm to the community ahead of a trial, noting costs from Emerson’s alleged crimes were in excess of $200,000 between emergency services and money lost by affected businesses.

“It’s my view that no amount of money or conditions is going to keep her from continuing to harass the people that she’s been harassing, or from continuing to wreak havoc on the community,” she said.

Judge Brenton Klause is expected to decide Friday whether or not to grant Emerson bail.

To date, none of the charges Emerson currently faces have been proven in court.

Emerson previously pleaded guilty in 2015 to charges related to criminally harassing an ex-boyfriend. At that time, she was going by the name Amanda Totchek.