By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Woman accused of identity fraud elects trial by judge alone

Feb 28, 2018 | 3:24 PM

LETHBRIDGE – A Lethbridge woman facing of a number of fraud charges intends to take her matter to trial.

Samantha Joy Ellison appeared in court Wednesday, Feb. 28, and elected trial by a Court of Queen’s Bench judge alone with a preliminary inquiry. The prelim, which will determine if there is enough evidence for the matter to proceed to trial, was then scheduled for July 10.

The 28-year-old was charged on Jan. 4, after a Lethbridge Police Service officer on patrol observed a stolen license plate on a Jeep parked in a hotel lot along the 1000 block of Mayor Magrath Drive South.

An investigation and the subsequent search of a hotel room, resulted in police recovering identity documents belonging to four people, as well as stolen credit and debit cards. Police also found that a local woman’s identity had been used to obtain a loan and purchase a $40,000 Jeep in Edmonton.

Ellison faces 22 charges in total, including fraud over $5,000, possession of the proceeds of crime over $5,000, forgery, identity fraud, and breach of a recognizance.

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She is currently out on bail, under conditions that prevent her from being in a private vehicle without the registered owner.