Trial date set for two charged in drug bust

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on April 26, 2024.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

Two Lethbridge residents charged in 2023 following a drug bust in the city are set to stand trial later this year.

Dylan Ivan Sokol and Kristina Lucille Zinger, whose matters were addressed Thursday in Lethbridge court of justice, are scheduled to stand trial for four days beginning Nov. 4.

The two accused were arrested and charged nearly a year ago following an investigation by the Alberta Sheriffs Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) unit. During the investigation on May 3, 2023, officers observed people engaged in drug trafficking, and Lethbridge police arrested three men and one woman in the area of Stafford Drive and St. Edwards Boulevard North.

During a search of the individuals and their vehicles, police reportedly seized about 222 grams of fentanyl – 2,220 doses – 46 grams of methamphetamine, 26 grams of cocaine, $7,000 in cash and an SUV worth $30,000. The total street value of the drugs is just over $42,100.

Zinger, 41, , is charged with three counts of drug possession for the purpose of trafficking and one count of possession of the proceeds of crime.

The accused disappeared several weeks after her arrest and subsequent release, and didn’t show up for a court hearing in August. Court was told Zinger had gone to B.C., and an arrest warrant had been issued three weeks earlier after contact with her was lost, but she returned to Lethbridge shortly afterward and turned herself into police.

Sokol, 28, of Lethbridge, is also charged with three counts of drug possession for the purpose of trafficking and one count of possession of the proceeds of crime. Two other individuals, Robert Ambrus, 31, and Tyler Jeffrey Seppola, 38, were also charged in relation to the drug bust.

Sokol also pleaded guilty Thursday to charges of driving while prohibited and mischief causing damage stemming from an incident in Lethbridge on June 26, 2023 during a police investigation.

At about 2 p.m. on that day police were watching Sokol’s southside residence and saw Sokol and a woman, who was wanted on outstanding warrants, leave the house, get into a car and drive to a gas station. While the woman pumped gas into the vehicle, an officer approached her and observed Sokol looking at him from inside the vehicle moments before Sokol started the vehicle and drove away.

“The vehicle sped off with the nozzle of the gas pump still in the gas (filler tube),” Crown Prosecutor Sheena Campbell told court. “The nozzle and hose separated at the safety bracket and Mr. Sokol left the area.”

Sokol was sentenced to a total of 90 days in jail, which he will serve on weekends.