MAN WHO FLED DRUG CHARGES NINE YEARS AGO SENTENCED TO SIX MONTHS

A Calgary man who fled to Nelson, B.C., to avoid jury selection and
trial on charges relating to a marijuana grow operation in 1999 has
voluntarily returned to face the music.

Ryan Daniel Swanson, 32, came back to Calgary after spending the past
nine years in B.C., turned himself in last week and pleaded guilty on
Friday to producing the controlled substance.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Beth Hughes then sentenced Swanson on
Friday to six months in prison, after accepting a joint submission by
Crown prosecutor Brian Kiers and defence lawyer Maureen McConaghy.