West Kelowna fentanyl dealer tries to take back guilty plea

KELOWNA – A local man charged with lacing drugs with fentanyl out of a warehouse in West Kelowna will not be allowed to change the guilty plea he entered last year.

Leslie John McCulloch, 40, pleaded guilty to charges of production and possession of a controlled substance in early 2017.

Both his business and home were raided in March 2016, and police said they found more than 1,000 fake Oxycontin pills suspected to be laced with fentanyl. They also found large amounts of cash, gold, a quantity of binding agent and an industrial pill press and mixer.

After spending around a year in custody, McCulloch pleaded guilty and has been on $15,000 bail ever since. Late last year he changed his mind and applied to have the drugs that were seized from his warehouse tested at a lab.

McCulloch says the majority of the powder found during the seizure was binding or cutting agents, but today, Feb. 28, Judge Cathaline Heinrichs dismissed his application to change his plea, saying “analysis quality is lower than originally thought but (that) does not impact charges.”

She noted he never denied producing fentanyl or anything similar, had an experienced lawyer when he entered the guilty plea and, with a criminal record going back to 1999, clearly understands the legal system.

McCulloch’s co-accused, Rebekka Rae White, 29, remains charged with production and multiple possessions, but it is likely charges against her will be dropped after McCulloch is sentenced.

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