One of three men arrested in a city police drug bust is the brother of international country music superstar Shania Twain, the Edmonton Sun has confirmed.
Darryl Christopher Twain, 30, faces drug- trafficking charges after Edmonton cops unearthed about $7,000 worth of rock cocaine hidden in a car late last week.
Twain was charged after Const. Dean Boyer and another officer stopped a Pontiac Grand Am on Thursday at 10:30 p.m. at Jasper Avenue and 90 Street that fit the description of a car that may have been involved in a July shooting, said police spokesman Andy Weiler.
"It's called rock cocaine and they're spit-ball-sized," said Weiler. "There were over 170 of these spitballs throughout the car. It's significant. Officers are happy whenever they can get illicit drugs off the street. And $7,000 is a pretty good haul."
Late last week, Shania Twain's Toronto-based publicist, Tyson Parker, denied any knowledge of the arrest.
"It's news to me," he said. Parker did not return further phone calls.
A friend of Darryl Twain said the news seemed to have filtered out quickly.
"It's just allegations," said Dakota House, a former star of the CBC-TV drama North of 60.
Attempts by the Sun to contact Darryl Twain were unsuccessful. Twain was granted release on $1,000 bail after appearing before Justice of the Peace Terry Romaniuk on Friday.
However, he was not actually released from the Edmonton Remand Centre until yesterday.
Darryl Twain is the youngest of two half-brothers to Shania, who was born Eilleen Regina Edwards in Windsor, Ont., on Aug. 28, 1965.
Shania and two sisters were adopted by Jerry Twain, whom mom Sharon had married after parting with her first husband. The couple added two sons to the family: Mark and Darryl. When Jerry and Sharon were killed in a 1987 car crash, Shania took charge of the family. Darryl Twain was 13 years old at the time.
Shania last visited Edmonton on June 12 on a tour to promote her latest album, Up! The megastar now lives in Switzerland and is the best-selling female artist of all time.
Twain's fans said they weren't surprised a relative of someone high-profile was facing charges.
"It seems like people who become well-known either because of social or political power, like Shania Twain, tend to have people around them, especially relatives, that seem to find their way into trouble rather frequently," said David Bieganek.
The 25-year-old Bieganek, a fan of Twain's music, attended a concert by the diva in 1998.
"It seems to me that if you have a well-known and rich relative, if you do something stupid, it's going to be in the headlines," he added.
Darryl Twain is charged with possession of a drug for the purpose of trafficking, possession of a drug and possessing the proceeds of crime.
His brothers-in-law, Franklin Julian Logan, 33, and Jason Bernard Logan, 30, also face charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking.
All three are to appear in Edmonton provincial court on Sept. 3.
