Time served for man who spiked drinks

A 45-year-old man who spiked a female friend’s drinks with crystal meth said he did it because he felt the potent drug would lift her out of her depression.

Court was told there were no sexual motive to Jamie Denis’ actions on July 17, 2017, when he secretly added methamphetamines to a cup of coffee and a frozen drink.

“There’s no excuses for what I did,” he told Judge Tory Colvin. “I wasn’t in my right mind.”

In Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines on Monday, the Welland resident was sentenced to time served and placed on probation for two years on a charge of administering a noxious substance.

He was also banned from having any contact with his former friend. Assistant Crown attorney Richard Monette told court the woman felt “wired” after accepting a coffee from Denis.

Two days later, her offered the woman a milkshake-type drink.

The woman took a sip and noticed a bitter taste.

The woman grew suspicious and brought the drink, as well as the coffee cup from earlier, to Niagara police.

The items were forwarded to the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto where tests confirmed both beverages had been spiked with methamphetamines.

Denis also pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal harassment after he repeatedly tried to contact a second woman in Welland.

Between Jan. 9 and 22, court heard, the defendant showed up at the woman’s apartment complex on multiple occasions. In several cases, he brought her coffee.

Monette asked the judge to consider imposing a sentence of time served as Denis had spent the equivalent of six months behind bars in pretrial custody.

Defence counsel David Smith said his client added the “insidious drug” to his friend’s drinks because he had heard it can alleviate symptoms of depression and he wanted the woman to be happy.

“His intent was to have (the victim) feel better,” he said. “There was no intention to cause any harm.”