ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — A man who was set to go to trial on charges of breaching court orders, obstructing justice and attempting to interfere with the administration of justice by trying to bribe a police officer is expected to plead guilty to some of the charges when he returns to court later this week.
Dustin Etheridge, 27, was scheduled to go to trial Tuesday, but his case was delayed until Thursday, when he is expected to change some of his pleas.
The offences are alleged to have occurred in December 2017.
It’s one of multiple trials Etheridge has before the courts. He was denied bail on charges of plotting to murder a man with alleged ties to the Hells Angels, as well as a number of offences related to carrying a loaded handgun and breaches of court orders, for which he was denied bail. For all those charges, he has a co-accused — 34-year-old John Squires.
Etheridge was arrested as part of Operation Tarantula, a joint RNC/RCMP investigation that originated with Etheridge’s suspected criminal activity and resulted in the arrest of a number of people.
He faces charges related to the trafficking of cocaine, conspiring to traffic cocaine, possessing more than $5,000 in cash obtained from selling the drug, dangerous driving and breaching a court order.
Operation Tarantula, which also resulted in the seizure of seven kilograms of cocaine, $240,000 in cash, 20 firearms, two vehicles and various drug paraphernalia, spanned four provinces, police say.
