Accused drug trafficker gets another shot at bail

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This article was published 24/04/2024 (874 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man arrested as part of the takedown in one of Brandon Police Service’s largest cocaine seizures two years ago was given another shot at bail this week.

Montana Blair, 32, was taken into custody last month after allegedly breaching his court-ordered release conditions eight hours after he was released from custody. He is facing breach and drug trafficking charges. The charges haven’t been proven in court and Blair remains innocent until proven guilty.

The Crown opposed Blair’s release, arguing that Blair would likely reoffend if released and that his detention in custody was necessary for the protection of the public, while Blair’s defence lawyer argued that his client did not intend to disobey his court order.

Blair has no prior criminal record, other than recently receiving a conditional discharge after pleading guilty to identity fraud and failure to comply with release order charges in March.

Federal Crown attorney Matthew Sinclair read the evidence for the charges in court.

Blair was arrested in October 2022 by BPS as part of their investigation into cocaine trafficking within the city.

Between September 2021 and November 2022, BPS conducted a 14-month investigation, dubbed Project Banish. That probe identified another man as the leader of a drug organization that would import cocaine to Brandon and distribute it in the city.

During that investigation, police identified a man who had visited the other man’s residence to pick up drugs. Through a wiretap, police intercepted a conversation between the two men about the sale of MDMA pills.

Police also observed what they believe to be the man taking a kilogram of cocaine and a multiple-ounce bag of cocaine out of one of the trafficking ring’s stash houses.

Blair was consent released by the Crown and was re-arrested in July 2023. He was again consent released by the Crown after he was sentenced on the identity fraud and failure to comply charges.

However, shortly after his release, he was arrested by Brandon police for allegedly breaching his release condition of living at an address in The Pas.

Blair’s defence lawyer, Eric Wach, told the court that his client intended to reside as per his court order, but his route there prevented him from reaching The Pas in time.

Wach said that after his release, his client had gotten a ride from Milner Ridge Correctional Centre to Brandon, where his children live, and waited for his ride from Brandon to The Pas.

The defence lawyer said that police conducted a curfew check and when his client found out about this, he called police to tell them that he was in Brandon and didn’t want there to be any confusion about him not following his court order as he was waiting for a ride to The Pas. Shortly after, police arrested him for breaching the order.

“My client’s intention was to make it back to The Pas,” Wach said, adding that the ideal situation would have been for his client to travel directly from Milner Ridge to The Pas.

Wach also told the court that there are issues with the Crown’s case, including that police never found drugs on his client and that there are issues with the use of wiretaps that would likely come up at trial.

He added that his 32-year-old client was raised by a single mother and grew up in both The Pas and Brandon. Wach said his client has struggled with drug and alcohol abuse.

The defence lawyer presented a bail plan that was similar to his previous order, which would have Blair living in The Pas with an exception to be in Brandon the first and third weekends of the month to visit his children.

He also proposed that his client be given 24 hours from his release from the jail to get to The Pas.

Judge Patrick Sullivan said that a bail hearing is not a trial hearing, and that Blair is presumed innocent until proven guilty. He commended Wach for his submissions and said that due to the time Blair was released, there was no way that he could have made it to The Pas within his court-ordered curfew condition.

“That is not to say what transpired was right, or that it is an excuse to Mr. Blair,” the judge said.

He noted that the alleged breach did not involve drugs or any substantial reoffending, and ultimately decided to grant Blair bail on conditions, including living in The Pas, abiding by a curfew and attending Brandon on certain weekends.

Overall, Project Banish resulted in the seizure of more than nine kilograms of cocaine with a street value of more than $900,000.

» gmortfield@brandonsun.com

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