A 27-year-old Deer Lake man charged with forcible confinement was released from custody on Tuesday afternoon after agreeing to the conditions of a recognizance.
Steven Harold Clarence Saunders is charged with forcible confining a woman at or near Deer Lake between Dec. 3 and Jan. 2.
He’s also alleged to have assaulted the woman on two separate occasions between Nov. 16 and Dec. 2 and to have threatened to burn her home on Dec. 24 and the home of another man on the same day.
The provincial Crown consented to Saunders release on a number of conditions that include a surety posting $1,500 for him. He’s also required to stay away from his alleged victim.
The woman, 31-year-old Kayana Quigley, is Saunder’s co-accused on a number of drug charges currently before the court.
They were charged on Nov. 16 after the Deer Lake Royal Canadian Mounted Police executed a search warrant at a residence on Xavier Lane in Deer Lake.
A quantity of cocaine, prescription pills, drug paraphernalia and small amount of cash was seized during the search. Officers with the serious crime unit and police dog services west assisted in the search.
Saunders and Quigley are each charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and three other counts of possession of a prescription drug for the purpose of trafficking. Those drugs include pethidine, methylphenidate and buprenorphine.
Both appeared on those charges on Tuesday morning, at which time Federal Crown attorney Andrew May told the court that disclosure had not yet been completed.
Saunders and Quigley are charged on separate informations and May also said their matters may be joined and asked the court to keep them together.
The drug charges were set over to Jan. 29 and Saunders will be back in court on the other charges on Feb. 19.
