A Deer Lake man on parole for a conviction in a 2017 violent drug-related home invasion in Reidville is now facing drug and firearms charges.
Ricky Halfyard, 32, was arrested by the RCMP following a planned traffic stop Wednesday.
Officers conducted the stop on the Trans-Canada Highway just west of Deer Lake shortly before 4 p.m. Police temporarily blocked off the area to ensure public safety.
A quantity of what police suspect to be cocaine and a large sum of money were found in the vehicle Halfyard was in. He was taken into custody with assistance from the RCMP police dog services and officers with the RCMP emergency response team and the Deer Lake detachment.
A warrant, authorized under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, obtained prior to the traffic stop was then executed at Halfyard’s home. There police found another quantity of suspected cocaine, a large amount of cash and an assault-style firearm.
Police say the investigation is continuing and Halfyard has been charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, possession of a firearm where prohibited and unsafe storage of a firearm.
He appeared in provincial court in Corner Brook Thursday and is scheduled to have a bail hearing on Oct. 7. His parole has been revoked.
Halfyard was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the Reidville home invasion in April 2018.
He was one of four people charged in relation to the October 2017 incident.
Halfyard and three other men went to the home because one of the occupants owed him $250 for drugs.
Halfyard’s his face disguised and he was carrying a loaded shotgun at the time. He kicked in the door to the home to gain entry and left quickly when his intended victim suspected it was him and called Halfyard by name.
At the time of his sentence he was given 270 days credit for the six months he spent in custody before being sentenced. Other conditions of his sentence included a 20-year firearms prohibition.
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