Pubdate: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 Source: Kitchener-Waterloo Record (CN ON) Copyright: 2002 Kitchener-Waterloo Record Contact: http://www.therecord.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/225 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) POT-GROWING CHARGES NEARER TO RESOLUTION KITCHENER -- Nineteen months after charges were laid against members of a Kitchener family in connection with indoor marijuana grows, the case may be getting closer to a resolution, a Kitchener court has been told. "If there is not a resolution, the Crown will force them to go to trial," Hal Mattson, one of several lawyers representing the Tran family, said yesterday after court. The case has been adjourned to Jan. 24 for either guilty pleas, or to set a date for trial. The case against the Tran family -- including the parents, their six children and a son-in-law -- has been dragging through the court system since Waterloo regional police arrested and charged family members following June 2001 raids on 17 properties in which 2,000 marijuana plants worth between $1.3 million and $1.9 million were seized. The delays caused Mattson to say earlier this fall that family members could walk away from the charges if they are not dealt with quickly by the courts. But since then, Mattson said, drug prosecutor David Rowcliffe has worked hard to reach a resolution in the case, which would result in some family members pleading guilty to some charges to avoid a lengthy trial. Mattson said the latest proposal from Rowcliffe, dated Dec. 18, would see some family members going to jail and the family losing some of the properties that were seized by police. "I think he is being reasonable," Mattson said. He said he will be recommending that his client, Ba Tran, the 56-year- old patriarch of the family, accept the deal. "For people to give up money or a house, it is a big decision for them," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager