Manitoba man sober for 2 years receives 3 month sentence reduction in drug trafficking offence
A Métis man who has made “rehabilitative progress” through a sobriety program has received a reduced sentenced of four years and three months in prison afte rpleading guilty to possession of drugs for the purposes of trafficking in The Pas.
The father of six, 54, expressed sincere remorse and “asked for forgiveness” at his sentencing hearing as he “acknowledged the harm he caused in his community,” Manitoba provincial court Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta said Wednesday in a written decision.
“He entered the program addicted to drugs but encountered God there, and will leave the program sober and changed,” Hewitt-Michta wrote.
The man began recovery in 2023 while he was released on bail to the Adult and Teen Challenge Program (ATCP), a residential Christian recovery program, after police arrested him with more than 37 grams of methamphetamine and 15 grams of cocaine that spring.
He has been sober for more than two years and is considered a model participant and success of the program, according to support letters written on his behalf, the decision says.
The defence urged the court to hand down a conditional sentence so the man could continue his recovery journey with ATCP.
“The sentence imposed in this case must communicate society’s disapproval of the drug trade and its consequential harm to individuals and communities,” Hewitt-Michta wrote. “As such, the court’s focus is more on the conduct of the accused than his personal circumstances.”
Arrested in The Pas
The man was arrested in The Pas after running from an RCMP office who tried to stop him for a road infraction, the decision says. He was arrested after dropping a cellphone with a Facebook account open on the screen, a bag of drugs, a contaminated digital scale, cash and baggies.
The Facebook account had the man’s name and photograph along with messages that indicated he was selling drugs. Further analysis of the phone revealed the accused had gone to Winnipeg from The Pas to bring back methamphetamines for resale.
“The accused was discussing ounce-level purchases of methamphetamine as well as distribution not only to drug users, but also other street-level dealers,” Hewitt-Michta wrote.
“He facilitated the supply of a perilous drug into a smaller, more remote community with fewer resources at hand to address the inevitable fallout of methamphetamine addiction on users and the community at large.”
Nine days after his initial arrest, the same police officer saw the man in a parked vehicle in the early hours of the morning.
After a brief interaction with the officer who asked him to exit the vehicle, the man sped away, nearly hitting the police officer, and was charged with a driving offence.
The prosecution said the man was dealing at a very high street level and asked the judge to impose a four-and-a-half year prison sentence for the drug offence, as well as 90 days for the driving offence.
His record included a prior drug offence in 2020, when he received a four-year prison sentence after police executed a search warrant and seized nine grams of methamphetamine.
“I would have imposed a sentence of at least five years on the drug charge but for the accused’s meaningful rehabilitative efforts, which deserve consideration,” said Hewitt-Michta. “Repeat offenders typically receive longer, not shorter, sentences.”
Hewitt-Michta said while the man was sometimes ostracized because of his Indigenous heritage and was exposed to some addiction issues at his family home, his Gladue report — systemic and background factors that affect Indigenous people — said he grew up free from abuse and neglect.
“But I am mindful of counsel’s indication that the accused was exposed to addiction issues during his formative years, as well as the potential link between that exposure and his drug-related offending,” the judge wrote.
Nevertheless, Hewitt-Michta wrote, “deterrence and denunciation cry out nonetheless for a substantial period of incarceration given the gravity of the offending and his high degree of personal responsibility.”
The man received a three-month reduction from the Crown’s requested sentence, for a total of four years and three months for possession of drugs for the purposes of trafficking, along with a consecutive 30-day sentence for the driving charge.
He also was given 261 days enhanced credit for pre-sentence custody, and will ultimately serve just under three and a half years in prison.
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