Cocaine dealer apologizes, receives six-year sentence

A cocaine dealer from Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation apologized in a Brandon courtroom on Monday for the harm he’s caused others with addictions before he was sentenced to six years for drug trafficking.

Myron Tanner, 35, pleaded guilty to possessing drugs for the purpose of trafficking in April after he was arrested for having thousands of dollars’ worth of cocaine and crack cocaine with him in a vehicle in Brandon in 2024.

“Selling drugs and everything was maybe beneficial partly, but in all reality, it wasn’t. And, you know, I got way more consequences than I do benefits from that lifestyle,” Tanner said in the Court of King’s Bench.

“I have to be a man and be responsible for my actions.”

Crown attorney Serena Ehrmantraut read an agreed statement of facts in the case.

Tanner was arrested around 2 a.m. on June 17 when Brandon police were out patrolling on 13th Street, she said.

Officers had noticed a red Chevrolet Silverado with a burnt-out taillight and observed the driver fail to signal when making a left turn onto McTavish Avenue.

Police initiated a traffic stop, but the vehicle continued to drive almost a full block before pulling over, Ehrmantraut said.

Tanner did not have driver’s licence, and officers saw one of the two passengers in the vehicle had unstamped tobacco in their possession.

Police searched the vehicle and found a black backpack that held 17 ounces of cocaine that was individually packaged in one-ounce bags totalling 476 grams, the Crown said.

The backpack also had an ounce of crack cocaine, a prescription bottle of 75 Percocet pills and a small safe that had three bags of cocaine inside totalling about 70 grams.

Altogether, there was more than half a kilogram of cocaine in the vehicle, Ehrmantraut said.

“In a bulk sort of street value amount, that would have been approximately $17,000. But if it was portioned down to gram sales at the street level, which is about $100 a gram, it could have had an approximate street value of about $47,600,” she said.

The ounce of crack cocaine had a street value between $2,240 to $5,600, the agreed statement of facts said.

Police also found multiple IDs, vehicle registration, score sheets, a digital scale and cellphones in the vehicle, as well as $2,700 cash in a black case in the centre console, Ehrmantraut said.

One of the cellphones had photos of Tanner along with photos of drugs, significant quantities of cash, score sheets and a safe.

The phone also had a text-message conversation about dropping off drugs “minutes before the arrest” happened, she said.

Tanner and the two passengers were charged with possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking.

The Crown said Tanner had admitted to police that the cocaine in the backpack belonged to him and that he was paid by someone to drop it off.

“This certainly is a significant quantity of drugs that we are talking about. From the score sheet, it’s clear that there were sales that were happening between sort of the multi-gram to the multi-ounce type level,” Ehrmantraut said.

Tanner, she said, was directly involved with contributing to the drug crisis in Brandon, “which filters down through … property crimes, violence, things of that nature.”

He has a history of gang activity and admitted to selling drugs to support his alcohol and drug addiction, which evolved into a profit-driven situation, she said.

Tanner’s defence lawyer, Barry Sinder, spoke about his client’s history of abuse in foster care, the impact residential schools have had on his upbringing and his struggle with addiction — “a cycle that is very hard to break,” he said.

Sinder said Tanner has participated while in custody in programming that can lay a supportive foundation for him going forward.

“He’s an intelligent 35-year-old man. He has family support. Many people do not have that kind of support,” Sinder said.

“The cycle has to be broken, and the cycle can be broken for him and others who want to commit themselves to taking the appropriate steps.”

Sinder said he hopes Tanner can eventually turn his life around to set a positive example for his children.

Tanner told Justice Scott Abel that it was difficult for him to explain to his children that he was going to prison, but that he’s proud of himself for taking responsibility for his actions.

“I don’t know if you know anything about karma, but I feel like all the wrong things I’ve done in my life and everything, it’s like it catches up to me in one way or another,” he said.

Abel accepted a six-year joint recommendation from the Crown and defence, including a lifetime weapons prohibition order. Tanner has 742 days of enhanced credit so he will serve 1,079 days in prison, which is approximately three years, Abel said.

Sentences for mid-level trafficking offences range from five to eight years, he said.

The judge referenced comments Tanner made in the pre-sentence report, describing himself as having a role as an Indigenous man to be a protector, warrior, teacher and singer.

“I’m hopeful and expecting that you will assume that role as an Indigenous man and have a role in your family’s life and your children’s life,” Abel said.

» tadamski@brandonsun.com