The Crown is set to call 12 witnesses, the majority of them police officers, to testify at the trial of Justin Hopkins, 33.
Hopkins and 40-year-old James Lucas were arrested late on April 28 in a vehicle in the parking lot of Tim Hortons on Major’s Path and Torbay Road, in connection with a police investigation into drug trafficking out of a home on Beauford Place, in the city’s east end.
Seven members of law enforcement involved in the case testified Wednesday, including members of the RNC/RCMP Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU-NL), RNC patrol officers, members of the police surveillance team, a correctional officer from the city lockup and a member of the RCMP’s clandestine drug lab team.
RCMP Const. Robert Strong testified that he and an RNC officer donned white suits, respirators and gloves before searching the Kia Rio in which Hopkins and Lucas were found and arrested a day earlier.
The court saw photos of a small baggie of white powder Strong said he found under the back passenger seat, a cellphone he recovered from the front passenger side floor and drug paraphernalia, including a digital scale, he found in the glove box.
Other officers testified they found two more small bags of white powder on Lucas, as well as a knife, which was entered as an exhibit in Hopkins’ trial.
Police executed a search of the Beauford Place home the day after Hopkins and Lucas were arrested, and seized drugs and drug-related items.
Lab tests showed the drugs seized included cocaine and heroin mixed with fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid painkiller with a quick onset that’s said to be up to 100 times more potent than morphine.
This past spring, there were 17 fentanyl overdoses, two of them fatal, in the St. John’s area. A number of the users reportedly didn’t know they were taking fentanyl.
Hopkins is facing six counts of possessing a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking, one count of trafficking, a count of possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose and three counts of breaching a court order.
He had originally been released on bail to await a court date to answer to the drug charges, but was arrested about two weeks later after he allegedly breached three of the conditions of his release. He is currently in custody.
Hopkins’ trial will continue Sept. 8.
Twitter: @tara_bradbury
