Judge hopes for happy ending after giving man two years for possessing cocaine

A federal penitentiary sentence of two years was handed down Tuesday to a Medicine Hat man guilty of possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

Aaron Lawrence Solheim, 24, was arrested Oct. 24, 2015 after obtaining two ounces of cocaine in Calgary, and travelling with it back to the Hat.

It “clearly was a criminal operation,” although lacked sophistication, said the Federal Crown, noting that Solheim didn’t even have scoresheets traffickers use to keep track of transactions.

While the Crown originally planned to seek a 30-month sentence, this was changed after agreeing with defence counsel to two years — in part due to the 16 letters of support submitted by Solheim’s family. Solheim also has no criminal record.

Solheim is “a good person who made some bad choices for a short time,” said defence counsel Lyndon Heidinger, and — as the letters attest — he is a kind and caring man, although had became entrenched in the local drug culture.

At the time of his arrest, Solheim was “using as much as he was selling,” said Heidinger. While he had a job, it was not enough to support his addiction, which is why he turned to trafficking.

‘He’s come back to the family” said Heidinger, adding that actions speak louder than words, and among changes he’s made since the arrest is a focus on volunteer work.

“I’ve completely turned my life around for the better,” Solheim told the court, adding he has been sober since his arrest and is no longer involved with others who use drugs. “This is a real learning experience for sure; unfortunately I had to learn it the hard way.”

The family and Solheim both acknowledged he has to serve jail time because of his actions.

“I do accept and consider you have made some real changes in your life,” said Judge Eric Brooks, but added that changes a person makes between the time of arrest and sentencing aren’t given significant weight when considering sentencing by courts.

Brooks also said he hopes this “tragedy” will have a happy ending.