Verdict in steroid trafficking case due next month

A verdict in the trial of an Edmonton police officer accused of trafficking anabolic steroids between 2007 and 2013 will be handed down early next month.

The weeklong trial for Det. Greg Lewis, who faces three charges of trafficking in a controlled substance, concluded Friday with closing arguments; however, Lewis may not be done in court on Feb. 13 when Justice Scott Brooker hands down his decision in Court of Queen’s Bench.

Defence lawyer Dino Bottos filed a stay of proceedings Thursday because of the length of time the case has taken to go to trial, and he will wait for the verdict before deciding on what to do with the Jordan application.

Lewis, 36, was arrested in March 2016 following an investigation by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team and is accused of selling or giving Stanozolol, commonly known as Winstrol, testosterone and methyl-1-testosterone to fellow Edmonton police officers.

During the trial, Const. Kevin Yaremchuk, Const. Sean Parker, Const. Craig Mathewson, Sgt. Steve Maertens-Poole and Sgt. Adam Toma all testified that Lewis had agreed to sell them Winstrol.

Despite there not being any physical evidence of the transactions, Crown prosecutor Anita Chan said “evidence in its totality” was enough to convict.

The Crown needs only to prove an intent to make the offer, Chan told the court.

Chan said the officers testified against their own interests and while they readily admitted to being unable to recall exact conversations and specific words, and were vague about price and timelines, they all testified to using steroids bought from Lewis.

Two key points they were not vague about, Chan said, was the identity of the seller and the nature of the substance requested.

Bottos was critical of the testimony given by the police officers throughout the trial and questioned their ability to accurately remember events that in some cases happened 10 years ago.

He also argued his client’s case should be held to the same standards as drug-trafficking trials involving undercover police, who compile notes during the investigation that are used to help jog their memories during trial.

None of the witnesses kept notes and a bottle of M1T was the only physical evidence entered as an exhibit.

Lewis, a 10-year member at the time charges were laid, was one of two officers charged.

The other, Darren French, 51, pleaded guilty to two counts of trafficking in a controlled substance — Stanozolol and methyl1-testosterone — in June 2016.

He was ordered to pay a $1,500 fine as part of a sentence that included probation and community service.

French, then a 25-year veteran of the police force, retired in April 2015.