Ringleader gets hefty prison sentence
Troy Pelkey, 56, an admitted cocaine dealer from Tilley in Victoria County, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on April 24 for orchestrating the kidnapping and torture of an Aroostook woman in 2024 at Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation).
Judge Anne Marie Richard also ordered Pelkey to register with the federal DNA database and prohibited him from possessing firearms for 10 years. He must have no contact with the victim.
Pelkey appeared in court in custody and showed no emotion upon hearing his sentence.
Defence Counsel Annie Maltais said the accused spent 1074 days in remand since his arrest, and his health had been deteriorating during his incarceration. His time in remand will reduce his prison term by almost three years.
In December, Judge Richard found Pelkey guilty after trial on five charges of kidnapping, uttering threats, forcible confinement, extortion with violence to obtain $10,000, and pointing a firearm at a female victim between April 27 and April 29, 2024.
Pelkey was found not guilty on a remaining charge of unauthorized possession of a restricted firearm.
Six other individuals from Neqotkuk were also charged and convicted of the kidnapping, and two of them testified against Pelkey. The court heard their violent actions were premeditated, fuelled by drugs, and motivated by financial gain because a bounty was offered by Pelkey for snaring the victim. Once caught, she was given 30 days to pay a debt, or she would die.
A 55-year-old Aroostook woman testified she was ambushed, kidnapped, gagged, beaten, and tortured for two days at Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation). She begged for her life during the last hours of her captivity and then crawled out of a body bag in the trunk of a car and ran for help.
265 days in jail or time served
A homeless man told Judge Rose Campbell on April 23 that he broke the law because he wanted to go to jail to get help.
Christian Mario Albert, 39, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 265 days in jail or time served when he appeared in provincial court in custody. Judge Campbell also placed him on probation for two years.
“I’m sorry about what happened,” Albert said. “I was having a hard time. I basically wanted to go to jail.”
Albert pleaded guilty to attempting to steal a motor vehicle at Canadian Tire on Connell Street and to breaching probation for an incident on Oct. 28, 2025, in Woodstock.
He appeared in provincial court in custody via video in November for a fitness hearing after completing a 30-day mental health assessment at Restigouche hospital. He was found fit to stand trial and then waived his bail.
Defence Counsel Wanda Severns said Albert struggled with drug addiction and mental health issues, and he was worried about trying to live on his own.
“He’s concerned about being released without any foundation at all,” Severns explained. “He fears being released will set him up for failure.”
Albert told the court he planned to go to a homeless shelter in St. Stephen if he could get transportation there. He had a prior criminal record, including three convictions for vehicle theft.
Fined on breathalyzer charge
Andrew Keith Brown, 64, of Woodstock, appeared for trial in provincial court on April 22 and changed his plea to guilty on a breathalyzer charge. He was fined $2,000 and was prohibited from driving for 15 months.
Brown was charged by Woodstock Police with refusing a breathalyzer demand for an incident on March 20, 2024, in Woodstock.
Sentencing set for Oakland man
Grant Rediker, 43, of Oakland, appeared in provincial court in custody on April 22 and entered a guilty plea to a series of charges laid by the RCMP. His sentencing date was booked for May 27 at 1:30 p.m.
Rediker pleaded guilty to threatening to put explicit images online, breaching a no-contact order, criminal harassment and distributing intimate images without consent for incidents involving a female victim on Jan. 21 and Jan. 26 at Florenceville-Bristol.
He also pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon (a vehicle), possession of a firearm without a licence, break and enter at a garage, and illegal possession of methamphetamine for another incident on March 12, 2025, in Oakland. Four other charges were withdrawn by the Crown.
Rediker appeared in court in custody via video for a bail hearing on Feb. 5 and waived his bail until later. He has been in custody since his January arrest.
383 days or time served
Nicholas Robert Erikson, 34, of no fixed address, appeared for trial in provincial court in custody on April 24 and changed his plea to guilty on charges laid by the RCMP. He was sentenced to 383 days in jail or time served. He was also placed on 12 months of probation.
Erikson was denied bail when he appeared in provincial court by video from custody on Sept. 29, 2025. He pleaded guilty to breaking into a house under construction, possession of stolen property, and resisting arrest on Aug. 12, 2025, at Oak Mountain. One other charge was withdrawn by the crown. Erikson had a prior criminal record.
90-day conditional sentence
Ashley Marie Bernard, 39, of Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation), received a 90-day conditional sentence order when she appeared in provincial court on April 22. She was also placed on 12 months of probation.
Her sentence includes 60 days of house arrest and 30 days of following a curfew.
Bernard pleaded guilty to breaching a release order (house arrest) concerning an incident on March 24 in Perth-Andover. She appeared in court in custody via video for a bail hearing on March 26 and was released with conditions.
Bernard also pleaded guilty to theft and breach of probation on Nov. 17, 2025, in Perth-Andover.
Arrested after police chase
Shayne Everett Cameron, 33, of Woodstock, appeared in provincial court in custody via video on April 23 to answer charges laid by the RCMP. The matter was adjourned for plea until May 4 at 1:30 p.m. at the request of his defence counsel.
Cameron appeared in provincial court in custody for a bail hearing on April 2 and waived his bail. He was charged with possession of a firearm while prohibited from having it, flight from police, dangerous driving, two counts of unauthorized possession of a firearm, and breach of probation following an incident on March 29 at Perth-Andover when a spike belt was used to stop a fleeing vehicle. Cameron has a prior criminal record.
Trial adjourned
Makayla Marie Shaw, 27, of Plaster Rock, and Adam Ronald Demerchant of Woodstock appeared for trial in provincial court on April 23 after pleading not guilty to a break and enter charge laid by Woodstock Police.
The pair was charged by Woodstock Police with breaking into a residence on Creighton Street in Woodstock on Sept. 26, 2024. Their trial was adjourned until July 17 at 9:30 a.m.
Charged with impaired
John Douglas Haddad of Fredericton will appear in provincial court on May 12 at 9:30 a.m. to answer an impaired driving charge laid by Woodstock Police.
Haddad was charged in connection with an incident on Jan. 16 in Woodstock. He made his first court appearance on April 21 when the matter was adjourned to the new date.
