A Bonnyville man currently in police custody for a string of alleged forgeries is also facing multiple drug-related charges.
Four charges were brought against Bonnyville resident, 22-year-old Francis Edward Stoyles, who was arrested by the Bonnyville RCMP for alleged forgery on Jan. 20.
The charges, which date from an earlier incident, are possession of methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking, possession of marijuana, theft of a credit card reader and breach of probation.
Appearing in court on the same charges were two co-accused, Bonnyville residents 30-year-old Ryan Rolland Piche and 39-year-old Kevin Brian Madden.
“We're trying to deal with any methamphetamine issues that we're seeing not only in Bonnyville but also in the surrounding communities,” said S/Sgt. Luis Gandolfi of the Bonnyville RCMP, noting that around 22 grams of methamphetamine was seized from a vehicle containing Stoyles, Piche and Madden.
All three individuals were known to the police and were arrested by an RCMP officer in Bonnyville on Nov. 20, 2015.
Gandolfi said the officer found the accused in a vehicle pulled over to the side of the road. The officer smelled what he believed was marijuana coming from inside the vehicle and allegedly found the methamphetamine and marijuana upon searching the vehicle.
“We're very happy that we were able to get this quantity of methamphetamine due to the fact that it's clearly being contained in that quantity for the purposes of distribution,” Gandolfi noted.
Madden, who appeared via CCTV from the Edmonton Remand Centre, also faces six Traffic Safety Act violation charges from a separate incident, an additional breach of probation charge and a failure to comply with an undertaking.
Stoyles' attorney, Hart Spencer, requested matters for all three be put over to March 1.
“I would prefer if it were endorsed that he appear by CCTV,” Spencer said in court on Feb. 2, asking that Stoyles not be required to appear in person, as he remains in custody since being remanded.
Stoyles faces six charges pertaining to forgery and failure to comply with conditions in connection to a separate chargesheet.
Judge Kathleen Williams agreed to adjourn the matter until March 1, when all three co-accused will appear in Bonnyville court at 10 a.m.
