Men charged with murder plot appear in St. John’s court

The cases of four men charged with conspiring together to murder an alleged member of the Hells Angels were called in provincial court in St. John’s Thursday.

Dustin Etheridge, 26, and John Squires, 34, are in custody and appeared in the courtroom via videolink from Her Majesty’s Penitentiary, while 19-year-old Brandon Glasco, who is not in custody, appeared in person. Shane Clarke, 24, was represented by his lawyer.

The matter was postponed to allow two of the lawyers time to review the file for any potential conflict of interest, given the large number of witnesses involved.

Etheridge and Squires were arrested and charged together last spring, while individual charges against Glasco and Clarke followed in August.

On Thursday, Crown prosecutor Lloyd Strickland joined the cases of all four men together. They will be back before the judge again Dec. 10, at which time a date is expected to be set for a preliminary hearing in the matter.

That hearing will allow a provincial court judge to hear the evidence in the case and then determine whether or not there’s enough to send it to trial in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court.

The four men are accused of plotting to murder alleged Hells Angels associate Bradley Summers. In addition to the murder conspiracy charge, Etheridge and Squires face charges related to a loaded handgun. Etheridge, Glasco and Clarke also have charges related to cocaine trafficking.

All four were among a number of people arrested as part of Operation Tarantula, a joint RNC/RCMP investigation into the alleged criminal activities of Etheridge and his associates.

The investigation crossed several provincial boundaries and required help from police in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario.

As a result of Etheridge’s and Squires’ arrests, search warrants were executed at several residences, hotels, businesses and vehicles in the St. John’s metro area on May 17. Among the items seized were seven kilograms of cocaine, about $240,000 in cash; 20 firearms, including two handguns and ammunition; a 2014 Cadillac CTS and a 2012 Dodge Dually truck and drug trafficking paraphernalia such as cash counters, score sheets, etc.