A man involved in a major Red Deer drug bust almost a year ago pleaded guilty to lesser drug and court breach offences in provincial court on Friday.
Matthew Earles, 24, of Red Deer was spared jail time by Judge Jim Mitchell, who felt sending the accused to jail would deny his common-law wife and infant son of income.
The woman — Corissa Lynn Pols, 23, of Red Deer — had drug trafficking charges against her withdrawn by the Crown.
Earles pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and oxycondone, possessing drug money and breaching bail release conditions. Several other charges were withdrawn.
Mitchell heard that the Crown would have had a difficult time at trial proving the drugs and $9,000 in cash seized in a raid belonged to Earles because he lived in the residence with Pols.
The pair were among several people charged during a RCMP investigation in late January.
Police seized drugs and various guns when they raided a home in Sylvan Lake and two in Red Deer.
Two other men were sent to a federal jail earlier this year after pleading guilty to various offences.
Earles still faces drug trafficking charges in Calgary. Earles returns to Calgary Court of Queen’s Bench on Feb. 10 for a trial.
He was one of three Red Deer men charged in a major drug bust in October 2009. Nine people in all were charged.
Police said the sting took $1.5 million worth of cocaine off the street.
The police allege the drug network spread across Canada and supplied several criminal organizations and Alberta street gangs with large quantities of cocaine.
Earles, Cameron O’Connell, 22, and Brent Mark Cyr, 23, each face two drug-related charges, including possession of a narcotic for the purpose of trafficking and production of a controlled substance.
jwilson@www.reddeeradvocate.com