Man jailed for fentanyl possession

A Prince George man has been sentenced to 18 months in jail after pleading guilty to possessing fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking.

In issuing the term to Darryl Bryan Tom, 46, provincial court judge Steven Pothecary described the drug as a “complete scourge” but also noted the defendant’s own troubles with addiction.

The drug is considered 100 times more potent than heroin and has been the source of a surge in overdose deaths large enough for authorities to call it a health care crisis in the province.

Tom was arrested on July 19, 2017 when officers went to check out a spot in the industrial area along First Avenue where several people appeared to be setting up a shelter.

While speaking to Tom, an officer noticed a quantity of drugs and ended up seizing over 17 grams of the drug packaged into more than 140 individual doses, RCMP said at the time.

RCMP also noted Tom was arrested during the same week that emergency personnel were called to two opioid overdoses in the downtown area. Both victims survived.

Tom pleaded guilty after hearing from the officer during a trial on the matter. That he waited until after hearing the testimony was not held against him.

“Mr. Tom was in such a difficult state at the time of this incident that he really had no specific memory of it and, until he could hear more detail from the officer about what was going on and determine if he knew who the officer was, et cetera, he was not in a position to be able to give instructions to his counsel that this was appropriately dealt with by way of guilty plea,” Pothecary said.

In issuing the sentence, Pothecary, who is based in the Lower Mainland, had some sharp words for the slow progress on getting the fentanyl crisis under control. While education about the drug’s dangers has increased, Pothecary said it appears to not have reached people like Tom, “who have been living on the street, who have been completely caught up in the life of a fentanyl addict.”

“For him, one of the more startling pieces of evidence I did hear was just how incredibly sick he was from it, how physically impacted he was, down to, I guess, barely half of his normal weight,” Pothecary continued. “Now seeing him after he has been in custody for some many months he has regained at least some physical health. He has got a way to go because he also has some other serious health problems.”

Tom was sentenced to the minimum of the 18-to-36-month range now expected for a first-time conviction for the offence as a result of a March 2017 B.C. Court of Appeals decision, R v Smith, for a streetlevel trafficker originally sentenced to six months.

In addition to the guilty plea, Pothecary took into account the backgrounds of Tom and his family, in accordance with the principles spelled out in R v Gladue and R v Ipeelee in regard to how sentencing for Indigenous people should be approached.

Tom’s apparent willingness to get help was also noted.

“He knows what he needs to do to save his own life and to move forward in a healthy way,” Pothecary said.

“I am accepting what he has told me that he can do this, that he is ready to do it now.”

Less credit for time served, Tom was to serve a further 5 1/2 months in jail as of March 26, the date of sentencing.