Convicted drug dealer headed to trial on new allegations
Robbie Waugh, 45, of Millville, is accused of possessing hard drugs and weapons Feb. 28, Sept. 3 and Sept. 8
A Millville man who recently served a lengthy prison sentence for drug trafficking and firearms crimes is headed to trial on new charges alleging similar offences.
Robert Wayne (Robbie) Waugh, 45 of Route 104 in Millville, appeared in Fredericton provincial court by telephone while in custody Tuesday.
He faces a long list of charges alleging various drug-trafficking and weapons charges from February and September of last year.
Waugh was previously represented by Hampton defence lawyer David Lutz, who was removed from the record in the case at an earlier appearance.
Fredericton lawyer Emily Cochrane appeared Tuesday as an agent for Waugh’s new counsel, Saint John defence lawyer Charles Bryant.
Cochrane said Waugh was prepared to elect trial by provincial court and enter not-guilty pleas.
Jointly charged
However, Waugh is charged jointly with Megan Elizabeth L. Hanson, 27, also of Route 104 in Millville.
She’s represented by Fredericton defence lawyer Michael Mallory, who told the court Tuesday he’d just been assigned the case and hadn’t had a chance to review disclosure with his client, who appeared in court Tuesday as well.
Waugh and Hanson face joint Sept. 8 counts of possession of meth and cocaine, both for the purpose of trafficking, alleged to have occurred in Millville.
They both also face related counts of Hanson possessing a stolen .45 handgun, possessing it with readily accessible ammo without a licence, possessing a restricted weapon (the same handgun) without a licence, storing that gun improperly, all on Sept. 8 in Millville.
Since the pair is charged jointly, their trials have to be held together, so the choice of what level of court at which the case is to be held is linked. If one opts for a higher level of court, the other is stuck with the same election.
Judge Mary Jane Richards set Hanson’s charges and Waugh’s Sept. 8 counts over to March 13 for election and pleas.
Hanson also faces a new charge - possessing meth for the purpose of trafficking - on Oct. 6 in Millville.
Trials set for other drug, weapons counts
Waugh pleaded not guilty Tuesday to Sept. 3 charges of possessing meth for the purpose of trafficking, possessing unmarked tobacco, possessing forged vehicle-inspection stickers, carrying a concealed knife, and possessing that knife and a magazine containing .22 ammunition while prohibited from doing so by a court order.
Richard scheduled trial on those matters for April 25.
Waugh previously pleaded not guilty to Feb. 28, 2022, counts of possessing hydromorphone, cocaine and meth for the purpose of trafficking, as well as possessing cash believed to be the proceeds of crime.
His trial on those counts is set for June 24, though Richards said that trial date will need to be confirmed.
Waugh will remain in custody until the cases conclude.
He was sentenced in May 2013 to a lengthy stint in prison for similar offences months after the RCMP raided the mobile home in which he was living in Rusagonis.
During that search, officers located a pound of cocaine, a pound of pot, 700 Dilaudid pills, 4,500 bath salts pills and other drugs.
They also found $48,000 in cash and a cache of unsecured firearms, several of which were discovered to be prohibited or stolen.
The Mounties reported the drug operation was far beyond that one would associate with a street-level dealer, describing it as a mid-level operation in the illicit drug trade.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.
What was his "lengthy" sentence? 3 years?