THREE ARRESTED IN DRUG DEATH

Six-Week-Old Case Reopened

A six-week-old deadly drug overdose was revisited yesterday when
police announced three men will be charged with manslaughter in
connection with the case.

The three will be arraigned on five charges tomorrow in the death of
Darren Anthony Flint, 34, found dead in a suspected drug pad April
24.

New information supplied to police a few days later created the
unusual case where detectives re-opened the investigation, despite
initially saying the death was a drug-related accident.

"(This case is) a little different, there's no doubt about it," said
Halifax regional police spokes-man Const. Frank Bowes.

He said Harry William Crann, 38, and Cecil Edison Lapierre, 46, both
of no fixed address, face charges of manslaughter by criminal
negligence and by unlawful act. Dartmouth resident Glenn Arthur
Keizer, 41, faces one charge of manslaughter by criminal negligence.

They were arrested in the last few days without incident.

Bowes wouldn't confirm or deny whether an autopsy had been undertaken
on Flint. "This particular case is going to focus not so much on the
cause of death but the actions of people - what they did or did not
do," he said.

Bowes would not comment on specifics of the case, or on whether the
charges are because the men didn't help Flint when they knew he was in
medical trouble. Bowes did say drug paraphernalia were found around
Flint when he was discovered by authorities.

Officers with the major crimes section are still investigating, and
more charges are possible, said Bowes. Flint apparently had a
long-running battle with addiction.

In 1992, his lawyer admitted to a courtroom he took crack cocaine in a
successful defence against more serious charges of kidnapping,
extortion, and weapons-related offenses.

Flint and two other men accused in the case were acquitted, but not
before the trial sparked a solicitor general investigation after Flint
and another man missed their first courtroom appearance after reported
drug use while in custody.

Flint was charged in December 1997 with at least one drug-related
offence after a police operation rounded up 44 people in a drug sweep.
The family's obituary for Flint asks donations in his name be made to
a church or the Main Line Needle Exchange.

Neighbours around 2475 Clifton Street, the four-unit apartment
building where Flint was found, say the house has a bad reputation. A
For Sale sign has gone up in the last 10 days.