Following a drug bust, which resulted in charges laid on 10 individuals, a second guilty plea has been entered.
Greg Beston, of Regina, pleaded guilty to trafficking ecstasy and possessing the proceeds of crime on two different occasions in May 2011. Beston has no criminal record, and recommendation for an 18-month conditional sentence was jointly submitted by the Crown prosecutor and defence to Judge Karl Bazin in Estevan provincial court Sept. 8.
The circumstances surrounding the first sale involved two undercover police officers at a bar in Estevan. The officers approached Beston, who agreed to sell a gram of ecstasy for $100. He led the officers to his car, a 2011 Ford Focus, and retrieved one gram of powder. The officers paid the agreed upon $100.
The officers contacted Beston a second time via text message about purchasing more ecstasy. He sold them another gram of powder for $100. Because his car was used for the deal, the Crown asked for the forfeiture of the vehicle, along with the $200 proceeds from the exchanges.
Among the conditions of the 18-month sentence would be a weapons prohibition and electronic monitoring.
Beston's matter was adjourned until Sept. 29, so there is time to set up electronic monitoring before handing down sentence.
In other court news, Mark Davis, who is in police custody on kidnapping and assault charges among others, appeared in court but his matter was adjourned to Sept. 19. Davis is one of seven with alleged involvement in the kidnapping of three people in Estevan on May long weekend. He is the only remaining co-accused in custody, and it is expected that a show-cause hearing will go forward on Sept. 19.
The six other co-accused will also make appearances that day, and the Crown is expected to combine the individual charges into a joint information involving all accused. The courts will then be looking at a pretrial or case management hearing to begin dealing with the matters.
Four youth who were charged with breaking and entering, and alleged to be involved in looting a Roche Percee home while the residents were evacuated for flooding, appeared before the courts on Sept. 8. Each matter was adjourned, so the accused could seek counsel.
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During court proceedings on Sept. 12, Evan James Garrow, of Estevan, pleaded not guilty to four charges, which include theft over $5,000-but that was amended to theft under $5,000, so prosecution could pursue a less serious summary conviction-two counts of operating a vehicle in a dangerous manner and impaired driving. A trial date was set for March 19.
In other proceedings Monday, Lonnie Dittmer, a 33-year-old resident of Redvers, was released from custody following a show-cause hearing. Dittmer had been in custody since his arrest on Sunday for allegedly being in breach of a conditional sentence order. The Crown alleges that he breached the order by consuming alcohol and not keeping the peace by uttering threats.
Dittmer's conditional sentence order was issued when he was convicted in September 2009 of assault with a weapon and common assault after stabbing someone outside one of the 7-Eleven stores in Estevan. He was conditionally sentenced in a two-year order, which expires about two weeks after this breach is alleged.
The Crown prosecutor opposed Dittmer's release, calling him likely to re-offend. The Crown cited a pattern of alcohol consumption, which he said leads to alcohol-related crimes.
The defence said that to remand Dittmer for one breach in two years, with only days remaining in the conditional sentence, would likely lead to him losing his job. The defence said pursuing such a detrimental course for Dittmer would be contrary to the spirit of why he was granted a conditional sentence in the first place.
Upon granting the release, Bazin added a non-contact order to Dittmer's conditions, where he is to have no contact with his girlfriend until the matter is next heard in the Court of Queen's Bench on Sept. 19.
