By Lara Fominoff @LaraFominoff on Twitter

April Dawn Irving pleads guilty to one charge, not guilty to 14 others

Mar 29, 2019 | 3:10 PM

LETHBRIDGE – A 59-year old former Milk River resident facing more than a dozen charges, including animal cruelty, and causing or permitting an animal to be in distress, has pleaded guilty to one of those charges.

Appearing via CCTV from the Calgary Remand Centre March 29, her lawyer Bjorn Wolkmann, told Justice Derek Redman his client, April Dawn Irving, was prepared to plead guilty to one count of failing to appear. She was sentenced to 30 days but has already served her time.

An arrest warrant was issued for Irving in February 2016, after she ignored two court orders to appear in person.

She has pleaded not guilty to 14 other charges, and is scheduled to be back in court April 23, when a Pre-Trial Conference could be set.

Once again, Irving repeated requests for medical aid, and asked Justice Redman if he could recommend she also stay in a medical facility at CRC, rather than in the general population.

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A 30-day psychiatric assessment for her was ordered back on Feb. 11 but has not been completed yet. She told the court doctors at the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Centre could be finished with her assessment in the next week or so.

Irving was charged with animal cruelty in early 2015, after 201 dogs were seized from her property near Milk River, along with five more that were found dead.

The dogs were discovered starving, dehydrated and chained to stakes in a yard.