Fentanyl-trafficking suspect denies charges
Jahvon Diego Lasalle, 23, of Saint John, set to stand trial in November on counts alleging serious drug offence, property damage and assault with knife, all from April 30
A Saint John man alleged to have been found with a significant amount of fentanyl in Fredericton as well as a violent knife assault will stand trial in the capital this fall.
Jahvon Diego Lasalle, 23, of Carleton Street in Saint John, appeared in Fredericton provincial court by telephone from jail Monday to elect mode of trial and enter pleas on three indictable charges.
He’s accused of possessing fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking, damaging a metal box and ceiling belonging to the City of Fredericton and assaulting William Woodcock with a weapon - namely, a knife.
The counts all allege offences in Fredericton on April 30.
Lasalle, represented by Fredericton defence lawyer T.J. Burke, elected to be tried in provincial court and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Judge Cameron Gunn initially suggested a trial date of Oct. 27, but prosecutor Rodney Jordan, while noting that Crown witnesses would be available, said it was unlikely the suspected drugs seized in the investigation would have completed the testing process at a police lab.
The lab is quite busy, he said, and requests for testing aren’t submitted until a defendant pleads not guilty.
Gunn scheduled Lasalle’s trial for Nov. 8 instead and remanded him again until that time.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.