THE PIE SHOP trio accused of breaking COVID-19 rules by refusing to wear masks while at work in a bakery north of Tamworth, will fight the allegations in court.
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The accused Jaime Ann Schultz, 38, Alexander Walter Pordage, 41, and Sienna Gordon, 23 had their cases called in Armidale Local Court on Monday.
Schultz, Pordage and Gordon will front a hearing in Walcha Local Court in late September, after court documents revealed they would each deny the allegation they were not wearing a fitted face covering while in a retail or business premises.
Defence solicitor Rasha Shammas represented each of the accused in court and all three pleaded not guilty to one charge each.
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Court documents show solicitors expect the hearing to run for three hours, and six witnesses are set to be called.
The three were arrested after New England police visited The Pie Mechanic bakery, on Bridge Street in Uralla, at about lunchtime on July 9.
Police allege the three staff members were not wearing masks while working at the bakery at the time. Police claim compliance officers had already spoken to three workers at the shop on two other occasions earlier that week, and had already issued them with penalty infringement notices (PINs).
Schultz, Pordage and Gordon were taken to Armidale Police Station after their arrest, but were released on conditional bail.
Bail was continued.
The mask rule was introduced by the state government as the Sydney outbreak of COVID-19 continues to intensify, though there are some exemptions to the order.
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