Ex-gang associate gets 15 months for drug trafficking

When Adam Stephen Donald was arrested for selling drugs in Victoria three years ago, he was described as an associate of the Red Scorpion gang.

When he was recently sentenced after pleading guilty to possession for the purpose of trafficking, he was described as a former addict who was suffering from depression when he committed his crime.

Donald, 43, was sentenced in Victoria to 15 months in jail after a joint submission by Crown and defence.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Brian MacKenzie’s reasons from the February sentencing hearing were posted on the court’s website last week.

“Over a period of about two weeks, Mr. Donald brought narcotics from the Lower Mainland area and sold them in the Greater Victoria area at the street level,” Donald wrote. “He was arrested after coming off the ferry from the Lower Mainland and found in his possession were a couple of cellular phones, a small amount of cash, and 43 grams of cocaine, 10.34 grams of crack cocaine, almost 16 grams of heroin, and then in another baggie, 10.7 grams of cocaine.”

Donald was arrested in January 2014 in Sidney after a two-month investigation by the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Team.

Police said at the time that he had been seen the same day as his arrest in Mission meeting with Red Scorpion associates.

MacKenzie said “Donald was cooperative and admitted his involvement in this matter when arrested by the police.”

“I am advised he was tempted to delve into the drug trade in order to earn some income and found himself dealing drugs on the streets of Victoria,” he said. “While the offence here is a serious one and Mr. Donald has a not insignificant, albeit quite dated, criminal record, Crown and defence have proposed a joint sentence of 15 months’ incarceration.”

Donald’s record dates back to 1997, and he has had convictions for trafficking, theft and production of a controlled substance.