Vikings gang member pleads guilty to conspiring to traffic oxycodone
Thomas Snow, arrested in front of CBC cameras, has trafficking charge dropped
Thomas Snow walked down Cabot Street toward a police raid, emptied his pockets and held out his hands for a police officer to cuff him.
That was Sept. 29, 2016, the day a joint police task force hit nine locations linked to the Vikings motorcycle club and its alleged drug trafficking operation, and arrested a dozen men.
On Thursday, more than two years after his arrest, Snow pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic oxycodone.
"Yes, your honour," Snow said when the judge asked if he understood the ramifications of entering his plea.
Snow was set to head to trial this week, along with co-accused Shane Leonard, but decided to cop to the crime of conspiracy after a deal was struck with the prosecution to drop the more serious charge.
He'll be back in court Nov. 28, when the facts of his case will be read aloud and he will be sentenced.
Where are they now?
Nine men were charged with drug offences after Operation Bombard — a joint investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Royal Newfoundland Constabulary — came to a head with the sweeping raids across the Avalon Peninsula.
Vince Leonard Jr. was the first person convicted, sentenced to 18 months for trafficking cocaine. Joseph McIntyre was next, receiving a two-year sentence.
Charges against Dr. Brendan Hollohan, accused of trafficking narcotics with the Vikings, were dropped with the Crown citing low odds of scoring a conviction.
Shane Leonard is now set for trial on Dec. 18, though it is likely he'll follow Snow in changing his plea to guilty.
The men accused of being more prominent members — Vince Leonard Sr., James Curran and Wayne Johnson — are slated to head to trial in January for drug offences, just before Vikings member Al Potter starts his trial for first-degree murder.
Potter and Daniel Leonard are accused of killing Dale Porter in North River in 2014. Leonard will head to trial in September 2019.
In the days after the raid, police said the biker club, the drug dealing and the murder were all linked.