(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
June 09, 2014 - 1:35 PM
KAMLOOPS - Today was the first day of a jury trial in Kamloops Supreme Court for a resort owner suspected of dealing drugs out of his home near Cache Creek.
Gerald Burgess, 64, owner of Loon Lake Resort was charged with nine counts of possessing prescription medication and cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, along with two counts of careless use or storage of a shotgun after RCMP conducted a search warrant of his home on Feb. 23, 2011.
At the time, Burgess lived at his home with his wife and two teenaged children.
The search yielded 33 bottles of prescription medication, two rocks of cocaine, $2,000 in cash, ammunition and two shotguns—one of which was loaded.
In their opening statements this morning, Crown prosecutors Lesley Ann Kilgore and Travis Johnson said Burgess dealt out of his home and used the two shotguns to protect his drug operation.
He said Burgess admitted to possessing the pills and giving them to others.
In discussions with RCMP, Burgess said he kept the loaded shotgun in his bedroom to ward off cougars.
The Crown plans to draw on drug evidence analysis and will call on testimony from drug and gun experts.
Lawyer Ken Tessovitch will defend Burgess.
The jury trial is set to continue this week in front of Supreme Court Justice Ian Meiklem.
To contact a reporter for this story, email gbrothen@infotelnews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014