Man charged in drug case misses 1st day of his trial

‘My bad,’ says Peachland man by way of apology to judge, explaining he thought trial was to start following day

A Peachland man charged in a drugtrafficking case in which a party drug destined for West Kelowna from China was intercepted by police did not show up for his first day of trial Monday.

Ethan Louis Dillon, born in 1995, is charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance.

On March 26, 2015, members of the Kelowna Drug Section received information regarding a 12.7-kilogram packaged destined for West Kelowna.

Laboratory analysis confirmed the unknown substance was ethylone, known as MDEA.

On April 1, 2015, two 19-year-old men and a 20-year-old man were arrested in connection to the drug-trafficking case.

Dillon and co-accused Steven Robert Allen first appeared in court June 29, 2015.

On March 27, 2017, Allen pleaded guilty to two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

On Sept. 8, 2017, he was sentenced to 18 months in jail.

Dillon’s trial was scheduled to begin Monday morning in Kelowna, but he did not show up.

Court was adjourned for half an hour waiting for him, then Judge Lisa Wyatt issued a warrant for Dillon’s arrest.

Police arrested him at his Peachland home and brought him to court Monday afternoon.

Dillon is currently representing himself, and he told the court he wasn’t in court earlier because he thought the trial was starting Tuesday morning.

“My bad,” he said from the prisoner’s box Monday afternoon.

“It was my intention to proceed with trial. I really want to get this out of the way.”

The Crown will be calling nine witnesses in the five-day trial, including police officers and Canada Border Services Agency officers.

Dillon remains in custody on the warrant arrest.