A Health Canada lab test of suspected heroin found fentanyl in the drug mix, the court heard Friday morning in the trial of Jennifer Montgomery.
Montgomery, 31, is undergoing trial for one count possession of methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking and two counts of simple possession, including for heroin, over a drug bust on June 22, 2016.
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Cst. Chad Jackson testified Friday morning on the search of a safe found in Montgomery’s home, where various drugs, including cannabis, heroin and methamphetamine, as well as a shotgun shell were found.
Jackson made note of a hydromorphone pill, which was tested to be pure, but also noted suspected heroin, which, when tested by Health Canada, found fentanyl in the mix. Some of it also had found caffeine and acetaminophen.
Police also found about $1,500 in bills found in a bed in the master bedroom, Jackson said.
Montgomery’s trial had kicked off Wednesday with a voir dire — a trial within a trial — over whether or not to include testimony from Jackson over how a phone was searched for text messages, leading to a search warrant being issued on Montgomery’s residence and ultimately her arrest.
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Defence lawyer Michael Patterson failed to persuade Justice Gary Weatherill to allow the cross-examination of Jackson on that issue, shooting down Patterson’s suggestion that the use of third-party applications for text messaging would alter the legality of the phone search and therefore the legitimacy of the search warrant.
Weatherill also cast doubts about whether the search warrant would not have been granted were it not for the inclusion of text messages with Montgomery found on Natasha Clifton’s phone in an arrest earlier in the day.
Trial was scheduled to run from Wednesday to Friday, however it is unclear whether the trial will complete by end of day Friday, as Crown lawyer Ginger Holmes has yet to wrap up her case.
Related: Penticton RCMP issues warning to drug dealers
dustin.godfrey@pentictonwesternnews.com
