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

By Nigel Maxwell

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.

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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.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell