ESTEVAN — Bradley Williams was sentenced Nov. 3 in Estevan Provincial Court to 21 months in jail for a 2023 home invasion and a 2024 drug bust in Estevan.
Williams had earlier pleaded guilty to one count each of aggravated assault, forcible confinement and uttering threats against two men in an incident in November 2023. All three charges are under the Criminal Code. A second count of each charge was stayed, as was a charge of possession of stolen property.
He also pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking cocaine under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, in connection with the 2024 drug arrest. A charge of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000.
Williams was sentenced to 630 days in custody for the November 2023 incident. He was out on conditions since October 2024, after he spent 56 days on remand for the offences, so he was given 84 days of remand credit, meaning Williams is to spend 546 days in jail moving forward. He will also have 30 months of probation after he is released, in which he will have to follow standard conditions.
Then he was given a concurrent 546-day sentence and 30-month probationary order on the drug trafficking charge.
The provincial Crown was seeking 24 months in custody for the November 2023 charges, while the federal Crown wanted a concurrent 18 to 24-month sentence on drug trafficking, to be followed by three years probation. Williams' attorney Tyson Talhan was calling for a conditional sentence order of two years less a day concurrent on the charges, and took no issue with the three years probation.
In handing down the sentence, Judge Mitch Miller noted CSOs had been employed in drug trafficking and aggravated assault cases, but not for someone who pleaded guilty to both.
Miller also pointed out Williams didn’t have a prior criminal record and pleaded guilty prior to a preliminary hearing. A pre-sentence report described Williams as a low risk to reoffend, Miller said. Finally, the judge also noted Williams hasn’t violated his conditions since receiving bail in October 2024.
Miller also read an excerpt of Williams’ letter of apology to the victims and their families.
“I cannot imagine the physical and mental toll they went through,” Williams’ letter stated. “I kept trying to tell myself excuses for why I did it, but the thought I concluded was there was no excuse for what I did. I thought to myself ‘What if it was my kids in this situation?’”
However, Miller felt a CSO was not appropriate in this cases, because the offences were tied to a drug-trafficking organization, and the drug offences continued after Williams’ arrest in 2023.
“The gravity of the offences are serious and Mr. Williams bears a high degree of responsibility for them. Denounciation and deterrence come to the forefront. A CSO is not adequate for the purpose.”
Miller added he was encouraged by Williams’ remorse, his desire to be a good father and to better himself, but it does not justify a more lenient sentence.
“It is my hope that once Mr. Williams is done serving his sentence, he will continue on a better path he strives for, and I wish him the best in that regard.”
One of the co-accused in the November 2023 case, Nathan Mangaard, received a 3 1/2-year sentence earlier this year after he pleaded guilty to one count each of uttering threats, aggravated assault and forcible confinement.
Another co-accused, Billie Bertram, still has his matters before the court and is currently in custody. His most recent appearance was Nov. 3 in Estevan Provincial Court, and he is scheduled to have a show-cause hearing Nov. 17, also in Estevan, to determine if Bertram will get bail. Bertram also has charges in Alberta.
Charges against a fourth person were stayed after the man died in January 2024.
Williams’ co-accuseds in the drug case, Nadine Hala and Dallas Hala, each received a 20-month conditional sentence orders for their role in the operation. Their arrests were connected to a drug bust earlier in August 2024 in which four people were charged and drugs worth $150,000 were seized.
