Not a credible witness

Kenneth Joseph King guilty of possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking

A P.E.I. man who threw a pill bottle that held bags of cocaine out a car window before the police arrested him was found guilty Wednesday of possessing the drugs for the purpose of trafficking.

Kenneth Joseph King, 55, appeared before Chief Judge Nancy Orr in provincial court in Charlottetown for a decision after a trial held Tuesday.

During the trial, the court heard King threw a pill bottle containing 21 small bags of cocaine known as “spitballs” out his vehicle’s window where it hit a tree branch and fell to the ground.

In total there were nine grams of cocaine in the bottle, which King claimed were for personal use.

As she delivered her decision Wednesday morning, Orr said King’s evidence made no sense.

“I did not find Mr. King to be a credible witness,” she said.

The court heard police started to investigate King because they believed he was selling cocaine in the downtown area of Charlottetown.

On April 4, they arrested him after he left a home on Lilac Avenue where King said he bought the cocaine, which he planned to use for himself and was all the dealer had.

It was there that officers saw King throw the pill bottle out his car window.

King testified he does cocaine two or three times a year and has been using it for five or 10 years.

He also testified he paid $700 for the cocaine, which was much lower than the $840-$1,050 an RCMP expert told the court was the street value of nine grams of the drug.

Orr didn’t believe King’s explanation that he went to the dealer to get an “eight ball” of cocaine, which is 3.5 grams, but instead bought nine grams in multiple baggies because it was all they had.

“That’s the first thing that doesn’t make any sense,” she said.

Under all the circumstances, Orr said she was satisfied the Crown established beyond a reasonable doubt that King possessed the cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

King was initially facing more charges related to alleged drug offences, but the Crown stayed them during the trial.

He has been in custody since his arrest in April and will be back in court Friday for sentencing.