Drug dealer sentenced to 10 years in prison

A 10-year prison term for a Saskatoon drug dealer sends a stern message that “the risk of engaging in the sale of poison outweighs the possible rewards,” a Queen’s Bench judge ruled.

Justice Shawn Smith imposed the sentence on Friday after hearing submissions for Jordan Peter Lichtenwald last month. Lichtenwald, 36, was convicted of possessing hydromorphone, methamphetamine, GHB, cocaine and fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking, trafficking meth and cocaine and 11 charges related to a hoard of weapons found in his car and garage.

The Crown argued the array of hard drugs and dangerous weapons — including an easily accessible, loaded semi-automatic rifle, a sawed-off .22 calibre rifle, pellet guns and a homemade “zip gun” — combined with Lichtenwald’s eight prior drug convictions, warranted a 12-year sentence.

The defence argued for six years, saying Lichtenwald was a streetlevel trafficker caught in the cycle of a 20-year addiction.

In his decision, Smith said all drug dealers are business people who engage in risk and reward.

“They are venal businesspeople, soulless businesspeople, businesspeople whose very presence debases our community, but nonetheless businesspeople.”

Lichtenwald was arrested in October 2016 after Saskatoon police noticed suspicious activity while doing surveillance on a vehicle at an 11th Street car wash. That led to a search of Lichtenwald’s car and garage, which defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle argued was warrantless.

Pfefferle has filed an appeal of both the conviction and sentence, saying the judge erred in law by failing to find his client’s charter rights had been breached and by imposing a global sentence outside the appropriate range.

Smith said a significant prison sentence is necessary in this case, agreeing with the Crown that neither the facts nor the law favour the accused.

He cited a Court of Appeal decision that stated prison sentences are generally imposed in cases involving the trafficking of hard drugs in order to sufficiently denounce the crime and deter others from getting involved in the drug trade.

The sentence follows one of the largest drug busts in Saskatoon’s history.

At a news conference Thursday, police unveiled 21 kilograms of methamphetamine, 2.4 kg of powdered cocaine, 6.8 kg of marijuana, 4,453 fentanyl pills, 91.5 grams of crack cocaine, 776.3 g of hash and 7.3 g of heroin that were taken off the street last week.

Police said the sheer volume shows how widespread illegal drug has become in the city.