By EverythingGP staff

Court

Court update: Jail time in weapons trafficking case, charges withdrawn after Hythe-area break-in

Jun 10, 2021 | 5:30 AM

Alberta Justice says a man charged in a firearms trafficking arrest has been handed a five-year jail sentence in Grande Prairie court.

Alan Salud was given this, minus 15 days credit for time already spent in custody, June 1 after pleading guilty to a charge of possession for the purpose of weapons trafficking. He was also given a concurrent three-year jail term after admitting to a charge of possession at an unauthorized place. Twenty-nine other charges were withdrawn.

Salud was charged after a May 2020 arrest as a result of an ALERT investigation into someone selling restricted handguns to criminals in a scheme called straw purchasing.

This is where someone with a valid Possession and Acquisition License gets weapons for someone with no other way of getting them.

ALERT said in a news release at the time that Salud had bought 11 weapons from March to May of last year. One was seized during a March drug arrest, three more plus a shotgun were seized during searches of homes in Grande Prairie and Beaverlodge, while seven others were not located. It is not known if they have since been found.

Charges against accused in Hythe break-in withdrawn

Alberta Justice says all charges against the suspect in a break and enter at a construction site earlier this year near Hythe have been withdrawn.

The ten charges against Nathan Anthony Landry were withdrawn May 26 in a Grande Prairie court. They had included break and enter to commit theft, flight from police, and possession of stolen property over and under $5000.

He was arrested on February 2 of this year after Beaverlodge RCMP got a report of a trespasser at the construction site and found evidence and a break-in when they got there. Hythe Citizens on patrol helped identify a suspect vehicle.

That vehicle did not stop right away when police tried to pull it over and later hit the ditch.