Geneva woman charged in Canadian shooting plot appears in court

GENEVA – The Geneva woman charged in a foiled Valentine's Day shooting plot had a brief appearance in a Canadian courtroom Friday morning.

Lindsay Kantha Souvannarath, 23, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit arson, conspiracy to use weapons for a dangerous purpose and unlawfully conveying threats through social media.

A 20-year-old Canadian man, Randall Steven Shepherd, faces the same charges in connection with a foiled Feb. 14 plot to kill citizens at the Halifax Shopping Centre, authorities have said.

Chris Hansen, the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service communications director, wrote in an email that Souvannarath and Shepherd now have lawyers, and there was a five-minute court appearance Friday.

Souvannarath’s next court appearance is set for April 10, Hansen wrote, noting a date for a preliminary inquiry should be set then.

“But if disclosure is not yet complete by that time, the matter may be adjourned to await that, and the date may not be set,” Hansen wrote. “That is a possibility.”

In Canada, a preliminary inquiry is held "to determine whether the Crown has enough evidence to go to trial," according to www.novascotia.ca.

“The preliminary inquiry also gives the accused a chance to see and hear the Crown’s evidence.”

The judge then decides whether the case will go to trial.

The Geneva Police Department has cooperated with Canadian authorities on this case. On Feb. 13, police executed a search warrant at Souvannarath’s Geneva residence at the request of Halifax Regional Police.

Geneva Police Cmdr. Julie Nash wrote in an email that she received an email from the Canadian authorities Friday morning that noted their appreciation of the Geneva Police Department’s support and cooperation.

Sgt. Alain LeBlanc of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed in an email that officers from the RCMP and the Halifax Regional Police traveled to Geneva during the week of Feb. 23 as part of their ongoing investigation.

“We are not able to speak to the details of what was obtained as that forms part of our ongoing investigation, and the court process that is now underway,” the email from the Canadian authorities states.

Although Souvannarath is from Geneva, Geneva police have said there is no threat here.

“I will tell you that the representatives from RCMP and Halifax Regional Police were extremely professional and polite people to work with,” Nash wrote.