Fentanyl traffickers get jail time on appeal

Two men originally given suspended sentences for crime

Two men who pleaded guilty to trafficking in fentanyl and cocaine have had their suspended sentences overturned and substituted with jail terms following an appeal by the Crown.

The decision by a three-judge panel of the B.C. Court of Appeal came after the Crown argued the suspended sentences imposed on Aden Lee Aaron Rutter of Nanaimo and Michael Bruce Ramstead of Fort St. John, both first-time offenders, were unfit in light of the deadly and devastating effects of fentanyl.

The panel agreed with the prosecution that the Provincial Court judges in both cases made mistakes.

Rutter, 22, admitted he’d been a partner and active participant in a dial-a-dope operation for four to five months before his arrest in June 2015. Court heard Rutter, whose share of the profits was about $1,000 a week, had 35.5 grams of cocaine and 12 g of fentanyl in his possession when he was taken into custody. Rutter, who by age 20 was addicted to cocaine, heroin and fentanyl, said he believed the fentanyl to be heroin.

In her ruling, B.C. Court of Appeal Justice Lauri Ann Fenlon said the errors by the sentencing judge in Rutter’s case included speculation that the accused, who maintained abstinence in the community following his arrest, would more readily relapse if sent to jail and would resume dealing when released.

Fenlon also said the judge, who is not identified in her ruling, lost sight of the effectiveness of jail as a general deterrent.

She imposed a sentence of six months’ jail on Rutter to be followed by 24 months of probation.

Ramstead, 24, sold drugs to an undercover police officer on three separate occasions between April 25, 2014, and May 10, 2014.

Fenlon found the judge in Ramstead’s case erred in finding Ramstead’s use of the profits he made from selling the drugs to pay for his post-secondary education amounted to an “exceptional circumstance.”

The Crown pointed out Ramstead was not a drug user, had a stable upbringing, did well in school and chose to deal drugs because he was attracted to the people involved, and the money appealed to him.

“This court has consistently held that it is highly blameworthy for an offender to engage in the commercial distribution of drugs for financial gain to the detriment of those who are unfortunate enough to be victimized by the drug trade,” Fenlon said in her ruling.

Ramstead was handed a sentence of six months in jail to be followed by 12 months’ probation.

Fenlon added the jail sentences should not be seen as revisiting a recent case of the Appeal Court that found the sentencing range for street-level trafficking in fentanyl to be 18 to 36 months in jail.

“Rather, the sentences reflect the timing of the offences prior to the application of the new range, and the position taken by the Crown in the courts below.”

Justice Peter Lowry and Justice Peter Willcock agreed with Fenlon’s ruling.