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A view of the fence-line at the Prince Albert Correctional Centre.  (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)
Drug trafficking

P.A. jail drug trafficking case stayed by Crown

Sep 22, 2020 | 5:00 PM

A court case surrounding an alleged drug trafficking operation at the Prince Albert Correctional Centre has come to a halt.

The Crown served a stay of proceedings in the case against Tara Anita Bird.

The 30-year-old, who was neither an inmate nor an employee at the institution, was facing a charge of conspiracy to traffic controlled substances, in association, or for the benefit of a local street gang. The original court information alleged the drugs were being tossed over the jail’s fence.

The charge was laid last month after a nearly four-month long investigation by the RCMP.

Typically a number of factors may play into the decision for a stay of proceedings including the likelihood of a conviction being reached, or if it’s viewed in the public interest for the case to move forward.

Kirsten Janis, the federal Crown prosecutor handling the case, would not tell paNOW the specific reason for the stay of proceedings, but explained the Crown does have up to a year to re-commence proceedings.

nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell

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