Convicted drug dealer handed term of 5 1/2 years

A drug dealer with links to the Independent Soldiers organizedcrime gang was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison Friday.

Donahugh (Don) McWhirter, 48, was living in Lake Country at the time he and his girlfriend, Brittany Stinn, were stopped by police in Merritt on Nov. 4, 2014, and drugs worth $181,000 were found in their car.

The drugs included 499 grams of methamphetamine, 750 grams of powdered MDMA (commonly known as ecstasy) and 5,595 ecstasy pills weighing 1.4 kilos.

A subsequent search of their Lake Country home discovered a shotgun, rifle, 16 cellphones, a drug scoresheet, three digital scales, metal pill press and vials of steroids.

Charges against Stinn were stayed (withdrawn), but two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking and four gun charges stuck in McWhirter’s case.

In handing down the sentence, Justice Barry Davies cited reasons for the jail term and lifetime prohibition from possessing firearms, which falls in between the eight years the Crown sought and two years McWhirter’s lawyer felt the convictions warranted.

The judge stressed McWhirter’s offences were serious, he was doing it solely for profit and had no conscience about the damage drugs do to users and society.

Davies also took into consideration McWhirter’s association with the Independent Soldiers, his lowto-mid-level position in the drug network and past convictions, including possession of narcotics, dangerous driving and assault with a weapon causing harm.

McWhirter and Stinn were under surveillance by police for months before they were arrested.

Crown prosecutor Perbeen Mann told the court the couple were arrested on their fifth trip to Vancouver and back in a month.

Police believed the trips were to pick up drugs in Maple Ridge and bring them to Kelowna for distribution by drug dealers and street-level pushers.

Police also believe McWhirter worked with the Independent Soldiers and recruited dealers to sell at street level the drugs he brought into the area.

While on bail, McWhirter and Stinn moved to the Lower Mainland to be closer to family and he stuck to his bail conditions.

“I recognize the support of your family and friends and your efforts of rehabilitation are commendable,” said Davies.

“But your past doesn’t give me confidence for your future prospects. I sincerely hope to never see you in these courts again.”

McWhirter concurred with the sentiment of never having to be before the courts again by nodding to the judge from the prisoner’s box.

He mouthed something and blew a kiss to his girlfriend and family, who were sitting in the gallery.

He was then handcuffed by the sheriff and led away.