Irvine man charged for meth possession

By Jeremy Appel

Alberta Newspapers Group

An Irvine man who was on trial for possessing methamphetamine for the purposes of trafficking, among other offences, in late September, was found guilty of all charges at Medicine Hat Provincial Court on Tuesday.
Brennan Osborne, 28, appeared via closed-circuit TV from the Medicine Hat Remand Centre as Judge Ted Fisher read his verdict.
He faced eight charges – three counts each of possessing a controlled substance and breaching conditions of release, as well as one count each of possession for purposes of trafficking and possessing the proceeds of crime.
On Dec. 19, ALERT was doing surveillance of two suspected meth dealers, whom they saw meet with Osborne.
They noticed Osborne was driving a car with a stolen licence plate.
The officers followed the accused to a Tim Horton’s, where they saw him using a cellphone in violation of his bail conditions.
Upon arresting him for the stolen licence plate and breach, they searched his vehicle, finding 22.79 grams of meth divided into several bags and lesser quantities of LSD, heroin and fentanyl.
They found the drugs, as well as a scale, empty dimebags and cash, in a bag located in the passenger seat, where Osborne sat the entire time.
The trial heard from six police officers involved in Osborne’s arrest as Crown witnesses, while Osborne and his driver, Karsten Bridgeman, were defence witnesses.
Defence lawyer Greg White argued his client was guilty only of simple possession, not possession for the purposes of trafficking.
Osborne claimed he was stocking up on meth because he doesn’t come to Medicine Hat often.
However, the Crown pointed out that no paraphernalia was found in the car, which is often found on users.
The prosecution also pointed to the large quantity of meth found on Osbourne and the fact it was divided into baggies. It argued that a typical meth user couldn’t afford that much meth, nor would they take the time to divide it into dimebags.
“The court does not accept the testimony of the accused,” concluded Fisher.
Osborne’s sentencing was adjourned to Nov. 28, when he also faces an un-related perjury charge.

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