Thirty-year-old Brandon Tobin of St. John’s has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter in connection with the death of his grandmother almost 2 1/2 years ago.

The plea was entered by his lawyer, Mark Gruchy, who appeared via telephone this morning when the case was in provincial court.

Gruchy told Judge Bruce Short that Tobin has elected to be tried in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court by judge alone.

Before Tobin is arraigned in that court, a week-long preliminary inquiry will be held at provincial court in February 2025. The inquiry determines whether there’s enough evidence to send the case to trial and also gives lawyers the opportunity to assess the evidence.

Tobin wasn’t in custody, having been released on bail months ago, and had appeared in person for each of his court proceedings. However, when the case was called today, the court clerk informed the court that Tobin was back in custody. He was arrested last night for reportedly breaching one of his parole conditions. Gruchy, who is on annual leave, indicated he wasn’t informed of that.

Tobin’s parole violation is being dealt with by the Parole Board of Canada. However, Crown prosecutor Scott Hurley said that shouldn’t be an issue for the preliminary inquiry, as, he noted, Tobin is likely going to be re-released from jail.

Tobin was on parole after being convicted of drug and weapons offences — including possessing cocaine, possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and possessing a handgun.

Those charges were laid on March 18, 2022. That’s the day the body of his 82-year-old grandmother, Millie Blake, was discovered in her residence on Mitchell Court in the capital city. Tobin was reportedly staying with the woman. RNC forensic unit officers discovered the drugs and weapons in the house, along with digital scales with white residue and a number of pills in bottles labelled with Tobin’s name. They also found a .22-calibre Browning Buckmark handgun and ammunition, both which were found under a bed mattress in the residence.

Tobin wasn’t charged with manslaughter until June 2023 after a lengthy RNC investigation and officers awaited for DNA test results from a mainland laboratory.