Murder suspects face drug-trafficking charges
Erica Lee Blyth, 40, and Devon Mark Hood, 26, accused of possessing crystal meth, cocaine, hydromorphone when arrested after Newcastle Creek raid this summer
Two people accused of killing a Minto man last year are now facing drug-trafficking charges stemming from a search conducted at a home this summer when they were arrested.
Erica Lee Blyth, 40, of Wasson Road in Newcastle Creek, and Devon Mark Hood, 26, of Fredericton, appeared in Fredericton provincial court Thursday remotely from custodial facilities.
They’re charged jointly with possession of crystal meth, cocaine and hydromorphone (Dilaudid) for the purpose of trafficking. The RCMP charges allege events in Newcastle Creek, near Minto, on June 21.
Hood and Blyth are both facing first-degree murder charges in the Jan. 28, 2022, death of Brandon Patrick Donelan, 27, of Minto.
Blyth is charged jointly in that homicide prosecution with Joshua John McIsaac, 33, formerly of Penniac. Hood is charged jointly with Matthew David LeBlanc, 29, of Fredericton, in a separate information laid in court by the RCMP.
Hood and Blyth both expressed confusion and surprise at the new drug charges during their brief court appearance Thursday morning.
“I didn’t even know I was being charged with this charge until my parole hearing the other day,” said Hood, who is serving a federal prison sentence in Dorchester Penitentiary after being arrested for a parole violation this summer.
He asked that the disclosure of his Crown file be sent to the prison while he seeks legal aid representation on the drug counts, and prosecutor Jillian Jordan said she’d arrange that.
Blyth noted Fredericton defence lawyer T.J. Burke is representing her on the murder charge.
“As far as I know, my lawyer is not aware of this,” she told court Thursday.
“I just learned about these charges this morning.”
Judge Mary Jane Richards said while Blyth might have a legal-aid certificate for counsel on other charges, she should make a new application to ensure she has a lawyer for the drug charges.
The judge set the drug counts over to Nov. 9 for election of mode of trial and pleas.
Blyth, Hood and the other two murder suspects are all subject to court orders barring them from communication with one another.
Despite that, as the proceeding was concluding Thursday, Hood called out, “Love you, Erica!”
Hood and Blyth were both arrested at Blyth’s home June 21.
The RCMP issued a news release in late June about the circumstances giving rise to those arrests, though it didn’t name Blyth and Hood.
“On June 21, 2023, at approximately 10:15 a.m., members of the New Brunswick RCMP provincial crime reduction unit assisted members of the RCMP major crime unit in executing a search warrant at a residence on Wasson Road in Newcastle Creek in connection with a homicide investigation,” the release said.
“During the search, police seized four non-restricted firearms and four prohibited firearms, all of which were unsafely stored. Police also seized 45,000 contraband cigarettes, as well as quantities of what are believed to be methamphetamine pills, shady 8 pills, hydromorphone pills, cocaine, crack cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, unknown pills and drug-trafficking paraphernalia.”
Blyth was charged with Donelan’s murder the next day, while Hood was returned to prison on a parole violation for previous offences.
While the murder charges against the four suspects allege Donelan was killed Jan. 28, 2022, he was reported missing to the RCMP on Jan. 30, 2022.
That prompted a major search effort in the Grand Lake area, including an extensive ground search and an air search as well.
The victim’s body was found March 31, 2022, along a snowmobile trail in that area.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.