Drug trial postponed due to illness
By Peggy Revell on April 13, 2018.
prevell@medicinehatnews.com @MHNprevell A three-day drug trafficking trial, centred around the first appearance of “purple meth” and originally set to start Thursday, has been adjourned due to ill-health of one of the accused. A judge granted the adjournment Wednesday at the request of defence counsel for Joshua Munroe — with the new trial date set down for Sept. 6, 27 and 28. Munroe and co-accused Wayne Arthur Shrubsall were arrested Aug. 20, 2016 following an investigation by ALERT, with Shrubsall charged with possessing meth and cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, meth possession, possession of stolen property and breaches. Munroe, 38, was charged with possessing meth and cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and possessing fentanyl. Delays then came due to requests for adjournments from Shrubsall — including having a lawyer work on a plea deal for months, but then firing this lawyer. In September 2017, the Crown laid the additional charges against the pair, including conspiracy to traffic. With a new lawyer on board, more delays in setting the trial occurred due to the Crown providing late notice to defence counsel about an expert they wanted to use at trial, with Munroe’s counsel requesting adjournment due to the addition of a new defence witness. Munroe is on release, while Shrubsall remains in custody serving a two-and-a-half year jail sentence in Saskatchewan for drug trafficking charges that stem back to a cross-border police investigation in Dec. 2014. 8
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