Fines issued for firearm possession, drugs

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on April 8, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A 34-year-old Lethbridge man seen at a suspected drug house and later caught with drugs and a shotgun, has been hit with a couple of fines.
Kody Abraham Martens pleaded guilty Thursday in Lethbridge provincial court to charges of unauthorized possession of a firearm and drug possession, and was fined $1,500.
Court was told Lethbridge police were watching a residence Sept. 22, 2021 and saw Martens, who was already known to police, enter the residence and leave shortly afterward.
Police followed Martens and stopped him in the parking lot of a city business, where they arrested him on an outstanding warrant. During a search police found him in possession of 13.6 grams of cocaine, as well as a cellphone which held pictures of Martens carrying a shotgun.
Martens was taken to the police station where he confessed the gun was at his house and admitted he didn’t have a licence to own it. Police searched his house and found a shotgun.
Martens had originally been charged with drug possession for the purpose of trafficking, but the charge was reduced Thursday in court to simple possession.
“There just was insufficient evidence to support any sort of intention to traffic,” Federal Crown Prosecutor Mark Klassen said.
Lethbridge lawyer Claudia Connolly told court Martens has fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and struggles with addictions and homelessness.

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