Trial set for Melendez

A man who claims he was attacked and wrongly arrested by police will have to prove his case in court.

Juan Melendez pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges of obstructing justice and assaulting a police officer.

The 38-year-old Chilean claims police mistook him for a Native suspect during a prostiution sting last August as he was walking home from classes at SAIT.

Melendez expressed hopes the charges might be dropped before yesterday's appearance at provincial court.

But now, he worries the police and their legal team are stacked against him when his case goes to trial, which is set for June 15, 2001.

"I don't trust the legal system and the legal system doesn't work for poor people," said the recent graduate of electrical engineering outside court.

Don Wise of the Latin American Community Association believes Melendez is a "victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"We are bitterly disappointed this criminal trial is going ahead against someone who we believe is innocent," he said.