The suspect in the death of a Calgary woman nearly four years ago was ordered Wednesday to stand trial for second-degree murder in her killing.
Justice Allan Fradsham agreed with Crown prosecutor Todd Buziak there was sufficient evidence to justify a trial for Gregg Stanley Dodge at the conclusion of the accused’s four-day preliminary inquiry.
Defence counsel Andrea Urquhart did not argue against her client being committed to stand trial conceding the prosecution had met the low bar for such an order.
At the start of the preliminary hearing, Fradsham ordered a publication ban on the evidence presented by the Crown at Urquhart’s request.
Buziak called seven witnesses over the court of the proceeding.
Dodge was arrested in March of last year and charged with the death of 54-year-old Rhonda White, who also used the surname Joroszek.
At the time, Calgary police said they were able to make an arrest as a result of tips and information from the public.
The woman’s death occurred in August 2022 on the evening of Aug. 20, around 6:45 p.m. when police were called to the 200 block of 14th Avenue N.E. for reports of an unknown body that was found in an abandoned residence in the community of Crescent Heights.
Police said investigators believed the death was suspicious and that the woman had died several days before her body was discovered. The charge alleges the death occurred between Aug. 11 and 16, 2022.
In the ensuing 2½ years before Dodge’s arrest, police continued to look into the case.
“As the investigation progressed … witnesses have continued to come forward to police and provide information in relation to the death,” police said in a March 13, 2025, news release. “Based on this evidence, earlier this month, investigators publicly deemed the death a homicide in a previous news release, while continuing a public plea for information.”
Dodge, who remains in custody, will next appear in Calgary Court of King’s Bench on June 12.
Suspect to stand trial for first-degree murder in fentanyl death of Chestermere man poisoned with laced cough syrup
The Calgary Courts Centre in downtown Calgary.
Murder suspect Mohit Sandhu has been ordered to stand trial in connection with the fatal poisoning of a Calgary-area teen with fentanyl-laced cough syrup.
Justice Brandy Shaw ordered Sandhu to face a Calgary Court of King’s Bench jury on charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder in connection with an April 3, 2020, incident in Chestermere.
Sandhu, of Conrich, was charged by Mounties last July 7, in connection with the death of 18-year-old Sahil Grewal, who died three days after consuming what turned out to be poisoned cough syrup.
He also faces a charge of attempted murder for allegedly trying to take the life of Jaskarat Singh Sidhu on the same date Grewal was poisoned.
During Sandhu’s preliminary inquiry, which was conducted over eight days beginning last Jan. 12, Crown prosecutors Britta Kristensen and Aaron Rankin called seven witnesses.
Defence counsel Brian Beresh also took the rare step of calling two witnesses of his own. Since a preliminary inquiry is to determine whether the Crown has some evidence to call for which a jury could find an accused guilty, it is rare for the defence to present any evidence.
At Beresh’s request, Shaw imposed a publication ban on the evidence at the start of the Calgary Court of Justice hearing.
The alleged target of the attempted murder, Sidhu, is himself serving a life sentence for two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the fatal shootings of two men outside a northeast Calgary bar exactly a year to the date Grewal consumed the deadly concoction.
Sidhu had yet to have been charged with the fatal shootings of Jasdeep Singh and Japneet Mahli.
He and Prabhjyot Bhatti were convicted in December 2024 of two counts each of first-degree murder in the ambush killings outside the Mazaj Restaurant and Lounge off Barlow Tral N.E.
Sandhu, who remains in custody, will appear in Court of King’s Bench on July 10.
Alberta appeal court upholds conviction of Calgary man who robbed bank using COVID mask as a disguise
Calgary Courts Centre, May 27, 2024.
Despite being twice banished for brief periods from his own trial, a convicted Calgary bank robber was not a victim of a miscarriage of justice, the province’s top court has ruled.
In a written judgment posted online, a three-member Alberta Court of Appeal panel upheld the Nov. 27, 2023, finding of guilt against Navado Roy Wood.
The appeal judges found that even though Wood was twice asked to leave the courtroom while Justice Barbara Johnston dealt with objections by counsel, despite the Criminal Code providing that an accused has the right to be present for the entirety of their trial, the move didn’t impact trial fairness.
“The appellant was excluded from the courtroom twice during the trial. Both times, the exclusions were brief,” the appeal judges wrote.
In the first instance, while the accused was being examined by his trial lawyer, “the Crown advised she had an objection and suggested the appellant should be excluded from the courtroom while the objection was discussed,” they said.
“The trial judge agreed.”
The prosecutor indicated she was concerned the line of questioning was leading to an alibi defence, which would require advance notice.
The defence argued the objection was speculative and no alibi was being raised, leading Johnston to dismiss it and order the accused to return to court.
During Wood’s cross-examination, the Crown raised an immigration matter and the defence objected. Again he was asked to briefly leave the courtroom but the judge quickly ordered him to return.
“We are satisfied on this record that excluding the appellant from the trial proceedings, while an error, did not result in any prejudice,” the appeal judges found.
Wood, 36, was convicted of robbing a bank on April 1, 2020, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wood, who was handed a four-year sentence, was wearing a mask when he ordered a taxi, which drove him to the bank he robbed, before returning to his ride.