Guilty pleas from drug charges

Two Lethbridge men have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a drug bust nearly two years ago. The two men, Lawrence Kreutz and William Paksi, were set to begin a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Lethbridge provincial court, but after lastminute discussions between lawyers and the Crown, they opted for guilty pleas on some of their charges, instead.

Kreutz pleaded guilty to charges of drug production, drug possession, possession of stolen property and unauthorized possession of a firearm, while Paksi pleaded guilty to a single count of drug possession.

Federal Crown prosecutor John Oman told court that police, acting on information that a Lethbridge residence was being used to traffick drugs, set up surveillance on the home. On Jan. 26, 2015 during a police raid, officers found a small-scale production of cannabis resin in a common area of the home. They also found nearly 50 fentanyl pills and three rifles, one of which had been stolen from Taber in 2014.

Court ordered a presentence report and Kreutz’s matter was adjourned to June 21 for a sentencing hearing. Oman noted that even though the accused pleaded guilty, the Crown and defence do not agree on an appropriate sentence.

Details of Paksi’s involvement in the drug operation were not described in court Tuesday, and his matter was adjourned to the end of March for a sentencing hearing.

A third individual living in the home at the time, Grant Yves Lamane, pleaded guilty last month to a single charge of drug possession — fentanyl — and was sentenced to three months in jail. Lamane was given credit, however, for 90 days he had already spent in custody while he waited to deal with the charge.

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