Two busts in Winlaw keep populace on the alert
By Nelson Daily Staff
Cedar Creek Road bust in Winlaw
Police harvested 352 marijuana plants Oct. 23 in the culmination of a six-month long investigation of a grow operation on Cedar Creek Road in Winlaw.
Slocan Lake and Nakusp RCMP executed the drug search warrant at a Winlaw residence and found the plants in an outbuilding on the property.
The plants were in various stages of production. A small amount of cocaine was also seized from inside the home.
While police were at the property the home owner returned, but upon seeing the police the man immediately fled the area in a vehicle.
“On scene members gave chase of the suspect and called for the assistance of a police dog after it was found the suspect had fled the vehicle on foot into a forest close by,” said Const. Alan Van Hussen of the Slocan Lake RCMP.
However, the man was located in the woods close by and arrested before the police dog could arrive.
The 47-year-old Winlaw man has since been released from police custody on a promise to appear in court Dec. 21 in Nelson. He is charged with production of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking and another count of possession of a controlled substance.
Kazakoff Road weapons conviction in Winlaw
After police obtained authorization to search a residence on Kazakoff Road in Winlaw Oct. 18 for illegal weapons they got their man two days later.
Police had gained information that the accused, Christopher Eldon Judd, 47, had illegal possession of a rifle. RCMP officers from Nelson, Slocan Lake and Nakusp arrived in the late evening to the residence and Judd was arrested on the scene.
A search of the house uncovered a loaded SKS semi-automatic rifle with an attached bayonet, a wooden black-painted military style imitation rifle, numerous rounds of ammunition (including a stripper clip with nine live rounds), two cross bows and a three-foot sword.
The search further uncovered nearly a half pound of marijuana pre-packaged for street-level distribution.
“As well, an electronic weigh scale and a score sheet detailing monetary amounts consistent with street-level sales of marijuana” was found, said Const. Shaun Foley of the Slocan Lake RCMP.
Police also found eight grams of hashish.
Judd was charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking, possession of hashish, unauthorized possession of a firearm, and unsafe storage of a firearm.
Judd was remanded in police custody and on Oct. 20 in Nelson Provincial Court he pled guilty to trafficking, possession of hashish and unsafe storage of a firearm.
He received a three-month intermittent jail sentence, a probation order and a mandatory firearms prohibition order.
Conditional sentence breach lands man in jail
In June, 35-year-old Nakusp resident Damond Ripper was found guilty of three counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.
As a result of the conviction, Ripper was sentenced to a one-year conditional sentence order which included strict conditions imposed by the courts. One of those conditions was to abstain from the consumption of alcohol.
On Oct. 14 just before 2 a.m., members of the Nakusp RCMP attended to Ripper’s address after a report of a disturbance. When they arrived Ripper was found to be intoxicated by alcohol and was subsequently arrested for breaching the conditions of his conditional sentence order.
Ripper was taken into custody and later sent to Castlegar.
Five days later on Oct. 19 Ripper had his conditional sentence suspended for two and a half months, meaning he will now spend that time in prison before being released to finish the remainder of his one-year sentence on strict conditions.
