Firearms and drug caches net man 12 years

Police found cocaine, fentanyl, various weapons at several Abbotsford locations

An Abbotsford man who was convicted of possessing an arsenal of firearms as well as large quantities of fentanyl and cocaine has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.

In March, B.C. Supreme Court Justice William Ehrcke found Corey Jim Perkins, 31, guilty of 10 criminal counts related to the firearms and drug offences.

Charges were laid against Perkins after police in December 2014 executed search warrants at four Abbotsford locations: a Canada Post outlet on McCallum Road, a storage locker on Pinegrove Street, a barn on Taylor Road and a residence on Green Avenue.

At the Canada Post outlet, Perkins was seen mailing a package containing 48 grams of rock cocaine, 134 grams of powder cocaine and 200 tablets containing fentanyl.

In Perkins’ Mercedes-Benz, police seized $5,000 in $20 bills and a small quantity of fentanyl.

In the storage locker, the accused had 10 firearms, some with the serial numbers removed, as well as a large quantity of ammunition. The firearms included a loaded black semi-automatic handgun, a black and silver semi-automatic handgun, a loaded revolver, a sawed-off shotgun and an assault rifle.

Inside the barn, police found a loaded pistol and more than 300 rounds of ammunition for the various firearms. There was also 545 grams of cocaine, 959 fentanyl pills and a large quantity of materials for packaging and cutting the drugs.

At his residence, Perkins had a handgun with ammunition and more than $5,000 in cash.

The street value of the seized drugs was estimated by police at between $94,000 and $135,000.

In imposing sentence on Perkins, the judge said that the aggravating circumstances included the prior criminal record of the accused, who in 2009 had been sentenced in Calgary to five years in prison for drug-trafficking offences.

Less than a year after his Alberta sentence had expired, Perkins committed his B.C. crimes.

“Mr. Perkins was clearly not a lowlevel drug dealer,” the judge said in his ruling Monday. “Our Court of Appeal has recognized the catastrophic harm that drugs such as fentanyl cause to vulnerable members of our society. With respect to the firearms offences, the number of firearms and the quantity of ammunition is a grave concern.”

The judge said that although he had no evidence before him as to the reason for Perkins’ possession of the weapons, their quantity could accurately be described as an arsenal.

“As well, the fact that the serial numbers of five of the firearms has been obliterated is a sinister circumstance as it suggests that whoever would ultimately use them would want to hinder the ability of police to trace them.”

The judge noted that the accused committed the Abbotsford offences while he was under a firearms prohibition that had been ordered following his Alberta convictions.

The mitigating circumstances were that Perkins committed his crimes at a relatively young age, has a son that he wants to maintain a relationship with, appears to be intelligent and capable of contributing to society if he chooses to do so and does not appear to be an incurable drug addict, said Ehrcke.

After receiving credit for presentence custody, Perkins will have eight years, 10 months of prison time remaining.

Our Court of Appeal has recognized the catastrophic harm that drugs such as fentanyl cause to vulnerable members of our society.