WYNYARD – An Archerwill woman failed to appear in court in person for her sentencing hearing on Wednesday and a bench warrant for her arrest has been issued by the judge.
Holly Schweitzer, now 39, was found guilty in Wynyard Provincial Court in August. In March, she lost her charter challenge of the search warrant used to raid her home where drugs and weapons were seized last year.
Schweitzer and Rudi Betthel, from Bjorkdale, were arrested in March 2022 following a joint operation with the RCMP gang unit, the RCMP Warrant Enforcement Suppression Team, and Greenwater RCMP. The operation had targeted a home in Archerwill.
During the raid of the Archerwill home, police seized an illegally modified firearm, machete, Tazer, knife, other weapons and ammunition, methamphetamine, LSD, OxyContin and other pills, and a sum of cash. Archerwill is about 70 kilometres southeast of Melfort.
Schweitzer was charged with two counts possession for the purpose of trafficking (methamphetamine and cannabis), possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, possession of a loaded prohibited weapon with readily accessible ammunition, three counts of possession of a prohibited weapon when not licensed, and failing to comply with a court undertaking.
At the time, Betthel was wanted by Tisdale RCMP for weapons and drug offences from April 2021. He had failed to appear in court in Saskatoon. Betthel had been arrested during a traffic stop by Saskatoon Police Service Tactical Support Unit. Police say Betthel was driving and allegedly had a significant amount of methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine and related drug paraphernalia on him. Following the traffic stop, police executed search search warrants at homes in Saskatoon and Bjorkdale and seized firearms, methamphetamine, ketamine, hydromorphone and additional drug paraphernalia.
Since Betthel’s re-arrest in March 2022, he has remained in custody. He is scheduled back in Saskatoon Provincial Court on Jan. 10, 2024.
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