Charges stayed in Rosetown gun, assault case as man gets 150 more days in jail

By Ian MacKay

A man accused of aggravated assault, pointing a gun at two women in Rosetown and stealing a cellphone from one of them saw those charges stayed last week.

However, Cory Lee Rushkevich, 35, must serve 150 more days in jail after he pleaded guilty through a lawyer to some of the charges he faced during a provincial court session at the Elks Hall on March 12. Rushkevich had spent the previous 91 days behind bars, Judge Brad Mitchell heard during the session.

Crown and defence lawyers worked out a resolution in which the man pleaded guilty to some charges rather than proceed with the scheduled preliminary hearing.

Crown prosecutor Ashley Fulton stayed all five charges related to an incident on Nov. 11, 2023, when police accused him in the assault, gun and theft incident on First Street West in Rosetown.

The man pleaded guilty to breaking a 22-month conditional sentence order for driving while prohibited and must serve the rest of it in jail, minus the time he has spent on remand.

He also pleaded guilty to failing to attend court the first time the preliminary hearing was scheduled, on May 6, 2025, and for not calling a probation officer around July 9 in Ituna.

His lawyer said Rushkevich, of part-Métis descent, grew up in Saskatoon and lived in “six or seven homes” during his teen years. He got electrocuted at 15 and spent a year in hospital before having to re-learn how to walk, she said.

He “fell into drugs and alcohol,” leading to a lengthy criminal record, and has had “sporadic” employment, she said.

Rushkevich had nothing to say when given the chance.

Judge Mitchell decided the resolution was “appropriate,” saying the accused had “experienced neglect and foster care.”

Douglas Fraser, 61, of Birsay, must pay $1,950 and lost his driver’s licence for a year after he pleaded guilty to driving with an illegal blood-alcohol level in his first court appearance on three charges. Crown prosecutor Fulton stayed accusations of impaired driving and dangerous driving.

People called police in the early evening of Jan. 12 about a potential impaired driver on Highway 4 near Stewart Valley, Fulton said. One witness said he had driven in and out of a ditch, she said.

He failed a roadside breath test after police stopped Fraser’s vehicle south of Kyle and later registered blood-alcohol readings of .140 and .130, the prosecutor said.

“It sounds like you’re lucky you came out in one piece,” Judge Mitchell said before fining him the mandatory minimum of $1,500 for the “aggravated readings” and adding a victim surcharge of $450.

Andreas G. Gebaur, 34, of Calgary, was fined $206 after he pleaded guilty, as the registered owner, to going 128 km/h just west of Rosetown on Nov. 17.

After the guilty plea, a prosecutor withdrew a charge of having a cover over his licence plate, which Gebaur said he had removed and apologized for.