Man trades drugs for oysters
Stephen Peter Lakas, 46, given conditional sentence for trafficking hydromorphone
A P.E.I. resident known as "Stavros" and described by a paid police informant as "Summerside's biggest prescription pill dealer for over a year" has been sentenced to house arrest for drug trafficking hydromorphone in exchange for oysters.
On March 21 in P.E.I. Supreme Court, the offender – Stephen Peter Lakas, 46 – was sentenced to a conditional sentence of two years less a day (or 729 days) comprised of house arrest for the drug charge. The sentence was a joint recommendation from federal Crown attorney Scott Barry and defence lawyer Brandon Forbes.
Justice Nancy Key accepted the sentence recommendation and said it did not put the administration of justice in disrepute, was not contrary to the public interest and did not endanger the safety of the public.
However, Key added that even though she was accepting the joint recommendation, that didn't mean she was condoning Lakas' actions given that drug trafficking has become an "epidemic" on P.E.I.
PRESCRIPTION HYDROMORPHONE FOR OYSTERS
According to the facts, police received confidential source information that Lakas (or Stavros) was trafficking prescription hydromorphone in Summerside from his residence on Chestnut Street and from his vehicle.
On Feb. 5, 2021, police officers conducted surveillance at Shoppers Drug Mart on Granville Street where Lakas picked up his monthly prescription for a total of 840 hydromorphone pills. Lakas' prescription was comprised of 750 eight-milligram and 90 30-milligram hydromorphone pills.
On that date, Lakas picked up his prescription as expected and exited the business. He then got into his grey Ford F-150 truck and drove around to various locations in the city. Lakas then returned to the business's parking lot. A male driver of a red Chevrolet Cruz pulled up next to Lakas' vehicle and got into the passenger's seat. After two minutes, the man (described in court as an acquaintance of Lakas) got back into the Chevrolet Cruz and drove away.
LAKAS ARRESTED
The Chevrolet Cruz was pulled over by police and the driver was arrested. He told police that he exchanged a "feed" of oysters with Lakas for 15 30-milligram hydromorphone pills.
The man also said to police that he had received "hydros" from Lakas four or five times previously. He said the pills were for his wife's back pain.
Lakas was also arrested and police located 42 fewer eight-milligram and 15 fewer 30-milligram hydromorphone pills than the total amount of his filled prescription.
Police seized the leftover hydromorphone pills and other items, such as $2,600 in cash, 6.72 grams of hash oil, a wooden "billy" stick, an iphone, a dime bag containing 0.15 grams of MDA (methylenedioxyamphetamine) and a score sheet. Lakas told police that the stick found inside his vehicle was for protection.
Lakas was charged with two counts of possession of hydromorphone for trafficking (in Summerside and Cornwall) and one count of drug possession of MDA. Court records show that one count of trafficking hydromorphone and the MDA drug possession charge were both withdrawn. The 56-year-old man who exchanged oysters for hydromorphone was also charged with drug possession for trafficking purposes, but that charge was stayed.
Barry argued in court on March 21 that the drug offence Lakas pleaded guilty to showed "a low degree of pre-mediation" and that it was impossible to know how much of the hydromorphone seized by police was for the prescribed purpose and how much may have been "diverted to other purposes."
With respect to trafficking hydromorphone for oysters, Barry said "in this case, there's no evidence of motive for profit in the circumstances."
POLICE INVESTIGATION
Police began receiving information from paid confidential sources as early as September 2020 about Lakas' prescription drug activities, including that he allegedly sold most of his monthly hydromorphone prescription from his vehicle and residence. Two sources said they observed Lakas selling hydromorphone pills.
That information is contained in an information to obtain a production order request for Lakas' medical records for all prescriptions and pick-up dates from Sept. 1, 2020, to Jan. 25, 2021, at the Shoppers Drug Mart in Summerside. The production order was authorized by a provincial court judge on Jan. 26, 2021.
The production order request also includes an affidavit from a Summerside police officer assigned to the Prince District Joint Forces Operation (JFO) Drug Unit. The officer says that he regularly meets with confidential informants about illegal drug matters and adds that he is a handler or co-handler of more than five confidential informants.
In the Lakas investigation, police relied on information from four confidential sources identified as A, B, C and D. The comment about Lakas allegedly being Summerside's "biggest prescription pill dealer for over a year" was made by source C.
POLICE INFORMANTS
In the affidavit, the officer gives an overview of the circumstances of the four police informants. The informant's criminal records are redacted in the production order court file. Even so, the officer states that he wasn't aware of any of the informants having convictions for crimes of dishonesty, misleading police or perjury. The officer further states that he believes the information received by the sources in the investigation was reliable.
The officer adds that the sources had been providing police with information for more than a year (and in one case, more than five years) and none were interested in becoming police agents. Three of the informants (A, B and C) have been paid by police and were financially motivated to provide information. Those three informants' "circle of associates" included people involved with criminal and drug activity. The other informant – source D – wasn't paid and was motivated to provide information "for the good of the community."
Source B also told police that Lakas' Summerside residence on Chestnut Street had previously been broken into and $60,000 and a large quantity of hydromorphone pills were stolen. That information coincided with a report Lakas made to Summerside Police Services on Oct. 7, 2020, that his residence had been broken into.
OFFENDER CIRCUMSTANCES
Lakas, who is originally from Richmond Hill, Ont., discussed his personal circumstances in an affidavit filed with the court. Lakas says he was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and bowel cancer when he was 23 years old. Since then, he has had 16 surgeries due to complications. As a result, Lakas was prescribed increasingly larger doses of hydromorphone (and oxycodone) for the pain that led to an addiction. Lakas has also been diagnosed with mental health issues.
Despite having a prior criminal record, health issues and drug matters before the P.E.I. court, Lakas travelled to Europe in March 2022 to help out with humanitarian efforts in Ukraine during the war with Russia. Lakas says he settled in the Ukrainian cities of Mykolaiv and Kherson for a period of time and returned to P.E.I. in March 2024.
His work overseas involved delivering truckloads of supplies to families and organizing fundraising efforts and events for children. Lakas also says he wore a Santa Claus suit one time and delivered presents on a scooter to children in Kherson. In Mykolaiv, Lakas says he "found himself" and "eliminated all dependency on prescription opiates," which were not available in the city.
CRIMINAL RECORD
Lakas' prior criminal record is also referenced in court documents for off-island convictions from 2004 to 2008 for drug possession, fraud, theft, obstructing a peace officer, unauthorized use of a credit card, possession of stolen property and attempted fraud.
Lakas also discussed in his affidavit a conviction for sexual assault on May 11, 2010, after a trial in New Brunswick. Lakas was sentenced to a prison term at the Atlantic Institution in Renous. After a period of time in custody, Lakas successfully appealed and had the conviction overturned. Lakas is suing the attorneys general of Canada and New Brunswick and others for wrongful conviction and failure to disclose constitutionally required documents. Lakas says the lawsuit is still before the court in New Brunswick.
Lakas' sentence has more than a dozen conditions, including that he must remain inside his apartment in Charlottetown except to attend appointments or counselling sessions. As well, Lakas is only allowed to possess or consume prescription medication and he must submit to drug testing. Lakas is also required to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet during the sentence.