Defendent not allowed to change plea in West Kelowna drug-lab case
Sentencing is pending for fentanyl lab bust, could be 10-plus years in jail
A man charged in connection to a 2016 West Kelowna drug bust had his application to rescind his guilty pleas denied in court on Wednesday.
On March 2, 2016, RCMP executed a search warrant at 2675C Auburn Rd., in a West Kelowna industrial area behind Const. Neil Bruce Middle School.
The search warrant yielded an estimated 500 fake Percocet and OxyContin pills, two industrial pill presses capable of producing about 2,500 pills per hour, a chemical mixer and eight kilograms of suspected fentanyl powder, police said at the time.
Calgary police estimated that the West Kelowna drug lab shipped as many as 100,000 fentanyl tablets to Calgary per month.
The charges were later amended from fentanyl to acetyl fentanyl.
Recent analysis of the substances revealed the quality of the acetyl fentanyl was lower than originally thought, the court heard Wednesday.
This is relevant only for sentencing and does not impact the charges, said Judge Cathaline Heinrichs.
In June 2016, Leslie McCulloch, 37 years old at the time, and his co-accused Rebekka White, 26, were charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking and production of a controlled substance.
In January 2017, Crown counsel advised defence if McCulloch wished to consider pleading guilty before the trial, it would be seeking a 13-year jail sentence for McCulloch and a 10-year jail sentence for White.
McCulloch’s lawyer responded to the Crown proposing if the Crown would consider withdrawing the charge against White and agree to McCulloch’s release pending sentencing, he may consider entering guilty pleas.
On Feb. 22, 2017, McCulloch entered guilty pleas for the charges of possession and production of controlled substances.
McCulloch was released on strict terms and a pre-sentence report was ordered.
In April 2017, McCulloch advised the court he was obtaining a new lawyer.
Last week, McCulloch submitted an application to withdraw his guilty pleas.
He argued his guilty pleas were based on promises made by Crown and were therefore involuntary, that his motivation for the guilty pleas was to obtain an analysis of the exhibits and to ensure charges against White were withdrawn, and that his previous lawyer did not inform him a guilty plea is an admission of the essential elements of the offence.
Heinrichs dismissed the application to rescind the guilty pleas.
“I find the defendant has not met the onus to show that he entered the pleas involuntarily, or that he did not understand the pleas were admission of the essential elements of the offence of the production of acetyl fentanyl and possession of acetyl fentanyl,” Heinrichs said Wednesday. “The fact Mr. McCulloch had received disclosure from the Crown, had the assistance of experienced counsel and initiated the proposal for his release pending a sentence and that charges against his co-accused would be stayed on the basis of entering guilty pleas, support my finding that he clearly understood the nature of the consequences to entering a guilty plea, that he did so voluntarily and he was unequivocal.”
McCulloch will be sentenced at a later date.