34-year-old man pleads guilty to meth trafficking in Regina

Back in 2021, Gerald Domondon was moving drugs in Regina.

But a number of charges he originally faced, including possession of both methamphetamine and fentanyl for the purposes of trafficking, were stayed by the Crown.

He pleaded guilty Wednesday in Regina's Court of King's Bench to one charge of trafficking in methamphetamine and one charge of failing to comply with a release order. The 34-year-old man that federal Crown prosecutor Robin Neufeld referred to as an underling — a “street-level dealer” — was given a conditional sentence of two years less a day. So long as he follows the conditions of his sentence, he will be allowed to remain in the community instead of serving his time in jail. The sentence was put forward as a joint submission between Crown and defence, and was accepted by Justice Lana Krogan.

Domondon was just one of a number of people charged in relation to what police believe to have been a wider trafficking operation, the disruption of which Neufeld outlined for the court while reading the facts of the case, as accepted by both Crown and defence.

Acting on information obtained through investigation, on May 28, 2021 police got a search warrant for a garage at a residence in Regina's Harbour Landing neighbourhood, he said.

Domondon was among those found inside, and police seized cash from him, along with some 400 grams of fentanyl found in a tool box. He was released, but about two months later he was netted again.

Officers had been tracking the cellphone of a woman thought to be involved in the trafficking operation. They traced the phone to Calgary and then back toward Regina. Police stopped the woman just north of the Lumsden valley and, when her vehicle was searched, they seized drugs including more than half a kilogram of methamphetamine and nearly a kilogram of fentanyl.

Neufeld said officers were aware a truck had been travelling along with the woman's car. The truck was later stopped in Regina and Domondon was found inside, along with the driver — a man the Crown believes was the leader of the operation. The prosecutor said that in drug cases the Crown often sees scenarios where someone has arranged for someone else to transport drugs on their behalf, but then follows them to watch over the shipment.

Domondon was charged alongside three others. But the charges he faced in relation to that bust, and the bust at the garage, were stayed.

However, his cellphone was seized, from which police obtained text messages, some of which were read by Neufeld. They contained incoming requests to Domondon for “side,” which the prosecutor described as a slang term for methamphetamine.

The facts supported Domondon's guilty plea, according to Neufeld.

Defence lawyer Andrew Hitchcock outlined for the judge that his client was born in the Philippines — the son of a U.S. air force serviceman who he's never met in person. Raised by his mother, Domondon moved to Canada when he was a young teen and became a citizen around the time he graduated. While he spent some time in university, he left school and went back to the Philippines to play professional soccer before returning to Canada. After he was arrested on the drug matters, he was on release subject to conditions, including that he not be in Saskatchewan. But he was in this province on Oct. 25, 2022. For that, he received a timeserved sentence of one day.

When Krogan asked Domondon if he had anything to say, he told her he'd been in Saskatchewan unlawfully because he was looking for a job here.

“I just made, like, a few bad choices. Especially with, like, hanging around the wrong people.”

The judge admonished the man. “What you've done is serious,” Krogan said.

However, she went on to call his efforts at lawful employment “admirable,” and she said what happens next is his choice, in terms of whether the court ever sees him again.

“I certainly hope it doesn't have to,” the judge added.

Domondon will have to live in Saskatchewan at an approved residence and be subject to a curfew condition that will, with narrow exceptions, keep him inside for 24 hours per day to start and then gradually ease. He's only to possess one cellphone. He mustn't consume alcohol or illegal drugs and must take addictions programming as directed. He's not to have weapons and mustn't have contact with a number of listed individuals, in addition to other standard conditions.

The man found alongside Domondon in the traffic stop still faces charges and a trial is anticipated.