Lethbridge Police hand out charges in separate investigations

Lethbridge Police have charged two men in connection with an assault last Saturday morning.

Police responded to a report on November 29th at 9:30am of multiple people fighting with weapons in the 700 block of 3rd Avenue South. A man was located with head injuries and transported to hospital, then eventually airlifted to Calgary where he is listed in stable condition.

A short time later police located and arrested three subjects. Authorities say the suspects knew the victim, and the fight broke out after he confronted them at an encampment. Fifty-one-year-old Marty Lee Fransen and 25-year-old Gabriel Justin Fransen, both of Lethbridge, are charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon.

During the same investigation, police stopped what was reported to be a suspicious vehicle. Police say a search of the vehicle uncovered more than 12 hundred doses of fentanyl and methamphetamine as well as cash, and various weapons including a BB handgun, batons and knives. The driver and passenger were both arrested and charged.

Police say 39-year-old Matthew Douglas Dragland and 39-year-old Jeremy Mackenzie Toth were not involved in the original assault but are both facing charges.

Dragland is charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking, three counts of possession of a prohibited firearm/weapon and three counts of failing to comply with the conditions of a release order. He remanded in custody and is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

Toth meanwhile is charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking and three counts of failing to comply with a probation order. He was released with conditions and has a court appearance scheduled for December 11^th.