Man sentenced to jail on weekends
By Lethbridge Herald on September 19, 2020.
Delon Shurtz
lethbridge herald
A Lethbridge man caught earlier this year with drugs, stolen property and a gun will spend some time in jail, although only on weekends.
Jason Robert Bertram was sentenced to 60 days in jail after he pleaded guilty this week in Lethbridge provincial court to charges of drug possession, unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of stolen property under $5,000, and failure to comply with release orders.
Last February police received a number of complaints about suspected drug activity at a duplex in the 1700 block of 2A avenue north. Police, who investigated the complaints and witnessed drug trafficking, searched the residence and caught Bertram with 2.6 grams of fentanyl. They also found 3.5 grams of methamphetamine in his bedroom, as well as a 30.06 Winchester rifle hidden under a mattress. Bertram did not have a licence for the gun and at the time of the offences he was on release conditions relating to other matters, which prohibited him from possessing weapons.
Police also found a stolen impact driver in Bertram’s residence.
Bertram pleaded guilty to a second charge of failure to comply with a release order. He was out on bail under a condition he obey a curfew, when at 1 a.m. on April 11 a police officer approached him for jaywalking and discovered he was breaching the curfew order.
Although sentenced to 60 days in jail, Bertram was given credit for the equivalent of 33 days he spent in pre-trial custody, leaving him with 27 days to serve. His request to serve his sentence on weekends was granted when defence explained Bertram is married with three children and has a full-time job.
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