Man accused of attacking MLA appears in court

A man accused of attacking a Saskatchewan Party MLA while trying to steal his car will spend the weekend in jail as he waits for a bail hearing.

Clayton Friday, 45, made a brief appearance in front of a judge in Regina provincial court on Friday, charged with robbery with an offensive weapon, assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm and impaired driving.

The charges stemmed from a incident involving Thunder Creek MLA Lyle Stewart on a road west of Regina the morning before.

Stewart said a man said he had a knife and tried to steal his car. Stewart struggled with the man for some 30 minutes, receiving minor cuts to his hand, but he overcame the attacker and held him until police arrived.

Friday is from the Pense area, which is in Stewart's constituency. In the prisoner's box Friday, he spoke briefly to a legal aid lawyer before the case was adjourned.