Two men accused of assaulting longboarders in Pender Harbour May 24, 2004, will have their pre-trial conference by phone on April 26 after their lawyer was unable to make a March 24 pre-trial conference.
Drew Johnson and Paul Johnson have retained a North Vancouver lawyer to represent them in the case that is set to go to trial June 13.
The three other accused men in the alleged attack are Daniel Wood, Michael Webb and Daryl Costello, who all had their pre-trial conference on March 24.
Crown counsel Trevor Cockfield noted it has been difficult to set a pre-trial date with the Johnsons' lawyer.
"He is very busy and booked with trials throughout April," said Cockfield.
In the end it was agreed a phone conference with the Johnsons' lawyer would be sufficient as the lawyer was not available for a face-to-face meeting until May 5, at the earliest.
Judge Dan Moon commended Cockfield for his work on arranging a pre-trial date in Sechelt provincial court.
"I'm sorry for all the work you've had to go through on this I suggest we set the pre-trial conference by telephone for 9:15 a.m., April 26," said Moon.
Wood, Webb, Costello and the Johnsons all face the same charges from the May 24 incident in Pender Harbour: four charges of assault causing bodily harm, four charges of assault with a weapon, five charges of simple assault and one charge of possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
The accused men allegedly assaulted a group of longboarders using hockey sticks.
