ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — A 28-year-old St. John’s man charged with a range of serious offences – including conspiracy to murder – has pleaded guilty to many of them.
Dustin Etheridge appeared by video from a courtroom in Corner Brook in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court in St. John’s Monday morning, where he said nothing but the word “guilty” multiple times.
Three Crown prosecutors attended the proceeding, one for each set of Etheridge’s charges. Also present was Etheridge’s lawyer.
Etheridge pleaded guilty to plotting to murder Bradley Squires, as well as a charge of unlawfully possessing a prohibited weapon with ammunition. He had been jointly charged with those offences with 34-year-old John Squires.
Etheridge also entered guilty pleas Monday to charges of conspiring with a number of other men to traffic cocaine, trafficking cocaine and possessing more than $5,000 in Canadian cash while knowing the money came from drug trafficking.
In September, Etheridge entered guilty pleas to charges of trying to bribe an RNC officer and breaching a court order. At the time, the judge asked Etheridge if he understood that he could face a maximum prison sentence of 14 years on the bribery charge and four years for the breach; he said he did.
Justice Donald Burrage declined to hear an agreed statement of facts related to some of the charges Monday, given Etheridge’s co-accused. He told prosecutors to sever Etheridge’s case from the other men and file a fresh indictment before the statement of facts is read into the court record.
That is set to happen at Etheridge’s sentencing hearing on March 27.
Etheridge had originally been set to go to trial on a number of the charges, but changed his pleas.
He and a number of others were arrested in 2018 as part of a joint RNC/RCMP effort called Operation Tarantula, which had originated with an investigation into Etheridge’s suspected criminal activity.