Kitchener woman gets 13 years for fentanyl trafficking conspiracy

KITCHENER — A Kitchener woman who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic fentanyl has been sent to prison for 13 years — probably the stiffest fentanyl sentence ever in Ontario.

“To my knowledge, this is the longest sentence,” prosecutor Ruth McGuirl said in an interview outside a Kitchener courtroom on Wednesday after Ashley Broderick was sentenced.

Defence lawyer Tom Brock said his client’s guilty plea shows remorse and an acceptance of the consequences

— “a 13-year sentence, not for murder, not for robbery, but for being in possession and involved in a conspiracy with a very dangerous, dangerous drug.”

Broderick, 30, was one of 14 people arrested last year as part of a lengthy police investigation called Project Titus that culminated with the seizure of 1.5 kilograms of powdered fentanyl under a bed in her residence on Selkirk Drive.

It was Waterloo Region’s largest fentanyl bust, with a street value of $450,000. Police also seized 398 grams of meth worth $11,500.

Broderick, who has a prior record for drug trafficking, was second in command of a network that sold fentanyl, meth and cocaine across southwestern Ontario.

Police intercepted scores of phone calls between Broderick and the alleged kingpin, who bragged that he would make millions of dollars from the drug venture.

His case is still before the courts.

When she was arrested at Fairview Park mall, Broderick had $2,900 in cash, two cellphones and a debt list.

She also had keys to two rooms at the Howard Johnson Hotel in Kitchener.

In one of the rooms police found 21 grams of fentanyl and debt lists showing hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug transactions.

“This is a very serious drug ... and certainly the sentence needs to reflect that,” McGuirl told Justice Craig Parry, who agreed to a joint submission from her and Brock for 13 years.

Parry said Broderick’s actions were “fully voluntary” and her moral culpability is “extremely high.”

He said the primary principles of the sentencing were denunciation and deterrence to convince people not to follow in her footsteps.

The judge noted Broderick had a tough childhood marked by

This is a very serious drug ... and certainly the sentence needs to reflect that. RUTH MCGUIRL LAWYER

abandonment and neglect.

“Criminals are often made, not born,” he said.

This is not Broderick’s first prison sentence. In 2014 she got 30 months for possession of meth for the purpose of trafficking and possession of brass knuckles.

At the request of Brock, Parry agreed to recommend she serve her latest sentence at Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener so she can be close to family.

After enhanced credit for pre-sentence custody, Broderick has another 12 years and four months to serve.

Sitting handcuffed in the prisoner’s box, Broderick spoke quietly to her mother and other family members in the front row before she was sentenced and waved to them when she was taken away.

When Parry asked her if she wanted to say anything before sentencing, Broderick declined.

Brock made it clear his client was not the controlling mind of the drug network. The fentanyl was purchased by the kingpin and held at Broderick’s residence at his request, he said.

Noting she is 30 years old, Brock said Broderick can still turn her life around.