Drug trafficking nets 30 months
A man has just over two years left to serve in prison for his role in trafficking methamphetamine.
Lonny Newton pleaded guilty to trafficking a controlled substance and breach of a recognizance condition via closed-circuit television (CCTV) from the Edmonton Remand Centre.
Newton sold one gram of methamphetamine to an undercover RCMP officer for $100 during an investigation by the St. Albert RCMP drug unit at the Horizon Motel in late August.
Police also seized an undisclosed amount of marijuana and upon searching a U-Haul truck belonging to Newton, found a .22-calibre rifle.
The three other adults staying in the hotel room were also arrested.
There was a gap in Newton's criminal record from 2007 to 2013, noted defence counsel Gary Smith. A relapse into drug addiction is the reason for his most recent brushes with the law, including a 60-day stint in June for assault, uttering threats and failure to appear in court.
Newton was handed a sentence of 30 months for the trafficking charge.
Commercial drug trafficking typically nets a minimum three-year sentence, but this offence was on the low end of the commercial scale, said Katherine Laurie, federal crown prosecutor.
Given 1.5-to-1 credit for time in custody prior to sentencing, Newton has 26 months left to serve. He is also under a 10-year firearms prohibition.
Charges against two of the other people arrested are still before the courts. Charges against one person were withdrawn.
Guilty to parking garage theft
A B.C. man charged with break-and-enter into an apartment underground parking garage will be sentenced in the new year following completion of drug treatment.
Jeremy Blackwell pleaded guilty to break and enter, three counts of theft under $5,000 and three counts of possession of stolen property in St. Albert court Monday via CCTV from the ERC.
RCMP were called to an apartment complex on Grange Drive to investigate items stolen from a vehicle in an underground parking garage around 7 p.m. on April 27.
Video surveillance from an hour earlier that evening showed a tenant's vehicle entering the parking garage and a Chrysler Neon following close behind. A man and a woman both exited the Chrysler with a large black dog.
The man and woman were observed on tape loading items, including a chainsaw and upright fan from a nearby storage locker, into the trunk of the car. A "purple faux alligator skin" bag was taken from the tenant's vehicle, which they followed into the parking garage.
A hospital identification tag, gift cards and credit cards were inside the bag.
Officers found other stolen goods in the car including sports equipment, stolen licence plates, tools and work gear. Two transactions of $500 had been made from one of the stolen bank cards.
Blackwell's criminal record dates back to 2002 in B.C. He has been convicted of several break-and-enters and property related crimes since.
The 31-year-old told the court he has suffered a relapse with cocaine addiction.
"It's something I've been struggling with my whole life. I just want a chance to be a better person, especially since I'm becoming a father," he said.
Blackwell is booked into a residential treatment starting in December. His sentence has been postponed until after he finishes rehab.
