Four people accused in a kidnapping and extortion case have all elected to be tried by provincial court judge.

The four were tracked down and arrested after police were tipped off that a man had been abducted in the St. John’s area.

The events played out on the night of December 6, 2021.

RNC officers located a car they believed to be involved shortly before midnight on Old Broad Cove Road in Portugal Cove-St. Philips, pulling over the vehicle on nearby Oliver’s Pond Road.

Inside were five people, including a 27-year-old man who had allegedly been kidnapped for ransom about an hour earlier.

The four accused—Philip Pynn, brothers Joe and Jeff Aylward, and Theresa Lynn-O’Grady—are represented by four different lawyers, leading to scheduling delays that cropped up again this morning.

It led the judge to sarcastically assume that all sides had agreed on dates for the trial, which was clearly not the case.

Instead, all four accused elected trial by judge in provincial court, with intentions to plead not guilty.

All players have been given until March 1 to find three days in their schedules for the trial.