A young Elliot Lake man is headed to a federal penitentiary after admitting Wednesday that he was dealing a dangerous drug in the spring of 2023.
Trenton Richer, 27, pleaded guilty to three counts of possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking and a single charge of possession of property under $5,000 obtained by crime.
Superior Court Justice Michael Varpio imposed a six-and-a-half year prison term — a sentence jointly recommended by the Crown and defence.
With the credit he received for his pre-sentence custody, Richer faces a further 42 months behind bars in the pen.
On March 2, 2023, officers with the East Algoma detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police responded to a call about a suspicious person in an apartment building parking lot on Mississauga Avenue.
They found Richer slumped over in the driver's seat of a vehicle and contacted the EMS, the court heard in an agreed statement of facts.
One of the officers noted scissors in the man's pocket as he was placed on a stretcher to be transported to the hospital.
During a weapons search, when the scissors were removed, plastic bags containing large rocks and powder were discovered.
Suspected fentanyl was located in the pocket of his jeans, and more drugs and a scale were found in a backpack on the vehicle's backseat.
Richer had 114.5 grams of fentanyl, federal prosecutor Roland Aube told the court.
Not long after, on March 25, the cops were called about a disturbance at the same address.
They found the accused lying on the first floor of the apartment complex with his pants below his knees.
When officers tried to pull up his pants, a brown substance, wrapped in a clear plastic bag, fell to the floor.
They found more suspected drugs and $492 cash in a jacket.
Richer had 9.6 grams of fentanyl, Varpio heard.
On June 29, 2023, the OPP responded to a call to assist an ambulance crew with a possible drug overdose on an Angel Lake foot trail, near the same Mississauga Avenue address.
Richer gave police a false name, but the officers recognized him and found he was wanted on an arrest warrant.
He was arrested and taken to the detachment, where his backpack was searched.
Officers located suspected fentanyl, cocaine and hundred dollar bills in Canadian currency.
The cops recovered 51.61 grams of fentanyl, Varpio heard.
Court documents filed on Wednesday indicate the value of the fentanyl seized was $68,700 on March 2, $5,760 on March 25 and $30,366 on June 29.
A number of charges involving other substances and probation breaches were withdrawn following Richer's guilty pleas.
His lawyer Jasmine Gassi Harnden told the court her client had a difficult upbringing and experienced violence in his home.
Richer has spent time in custody without bail since his June 29, 2023 arrest and "is obviously sober now," she said.
When he imposed the prison term, Varpio said he agreed with the Crown that six and a half years is at the low end of the range, but it is a reasonable position.
He noted Richer's criminal record shows that he's done little chunks of time — the longest time being the equivalent of 12 months.
Now you have charges and convictions "that are not low level anymore," the judge told him. "This is the big time where you find yourself now."
Given the nature of your record, "I have to be realistic ... rehabilitation is not an issue today."
Deterrence and denunciation are the reasons for this sentence, he told Richer.
Fentanyl kills and a message must be sent to deter you and others.
"What you did was wrong and you must be held accountable not just deterred," Varpio said.
"You were found in possession of a decent amount of fentanyl and it's not surprising given you were addicted."