ATLANTIC

N.S. man pleads guilty to charges in connection with shale gas protest

THE CANADIAN PRESS Published Friday, December 20, 2013 5:02PM AST

Violent anti-fracking protests in New Brunswick

A destroyed police vehicle is seen in Rexton, N.B., Thursday, Oct.17, 2013. Forty people were arrested and weapons including guns and improvised explosive devices were seized when Mounties enforced the court-ordered injunction to end the blockade of a SWN Resources storage compound for exploration equipment and vehicles. (Andrew Vaughan / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

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MONCTON, N.B. -- A 27-year-old Nova Scotia man has pleaded guilty to five charges stemming from a shale gas protest in Rexton, N.B., that erupted into violence.

Coady Stevens appeared Friday in provincial court in Moncton, N.B., where he pleaded guilty to one charge of assaulting a police officer and two charges each of obstructing a police officer and uttering threats against an officer.

The Eskasoni man was in custody since his arrest Oct. 17 and he was sentenced to time served.

Stevens must also serve 18 months of probation and stay at least one kilometre away from any SWN Resources equipment, compound or worksite.

Two other men who were also arrested during the protest pleaded not guilty Friday.

Twenty-year-old Aaron Francis of Eskasoni pleaded not guilty to 16 charges including obstructing a police officer, assaulting a police officer and eight firearms-related offences.

Twenty-one-year-old Germain Breau of Upper Rexton, N.B., pleaded not guilty to 19 charges including assaulting a police officer and uttering threats against the police.

Both men are scheduled to return to court Dec. 30 to have dates set for their trials.