Members of N.B. clan facing multiple charges waive right to preliminary hearing

MONCTON, N.B. - Members of a New Brunswick family who face multiple charges have waived their right to a preliminary hearing, opting to move straight to trial in Court of Queen's Bench.
All eight accused members of the Tingley family of Salisbury - facing a total of 57 charges of operating an organized crime ring that allegedly peddled drugs, weapons and firearms - were in Moncton court on Monday.
It was the first time all eight appeared in court at the same time since a pre-dawn raid by the RCMP that led to the family members' arrests.
Rodney, Roger, Michael, Kevin, Chris, Sharon, Gail and Missy Tingley all waived their right to a preliminary hearing.
The move came as a surprise, since two weeks ago, the five male Tingleys asked Judge Jolene Richard for a hearing at the earliest date possible.
A preliminary hearing is held before a judge to determine whether the accused should stand trial.
Because of the volume of the evidence compiled by RCMP, a preliminary hearing was expected to take four weeks.
The entire family has opted to be tried by judge alone and a trial date will be set in February.
The Tingleys have applied for legal aid.
The court ordered that laptops be given to the five Tingley men who remain in police custody so the accused could be provided full disclosure of the evidence.
The eight Tingleys face charges that include trafficking cocaine, OxyContin, marijuana, contraband tobacco, weapons and firearms while belonging to an organized crime group.