More jail time for meth trafficking
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.00 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.00 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/09/2023 (939 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A Sifton man will be spending 18 months behind bars after pleading guilty Monday to trafficking methamphetamine.
Christopher Janzen was charged with possessing meth for the purpose of trafficking in July 2021. Both the Crown and the defence agreed on a recommended sentence of two and a half years behind bars, which, giving Janzen credit for time served, would leave him with one and a half years to spend in jail.
Crown attorney Ken Hawkins read the circumstances of Janzen’s arrest in a King’s Bench courtroom Monday.
On July 27, 2021, working from information they received, police conducted a traffic stop with Janzen. During a search of the vehicle, police found nearly five ounces of meth and $2,000 in cash.
Hawkins said that the matter had originally been set down for trial, and the Crown could have tried to prove that Janzen was a mid-level trafficker. However, after discussions with defence, Hawkins said that the lawyers agreed to a sentence that was somewhere in the middle of a street-level and mid-level trafficker.
Street-level traffickers usually receive sentences of 18 months, whereas mid-level traffickers generally get prison sentences anywhere between three and eight years, the Crown attorney said.
However, Hawkins said that meth is a hard drug, which has been a scourge on every community in the province.
“It leads to all sorts of other crimes, either from gangs trying to serve territorial dominance or control over the trade, right down to the users who are desperate, either reacting violently from the drug itself or resorting to thefts and robberies to obtain more cash for the drug,” Hawkins said.
Janzen’s defence lawyer, Anthony Kavanagh, told the court that the sentence was a true plea bargain and pointed to numerous issues with the case from both sides including issues with evidence and an informant.
He said that his 35-year-old client’s offending was a result of his addiction to the drug. Kavanagh said that while Janzen was in jail awaiting his charges to move through the court system, he sought treatment at the jail.
“Addiction is what brought my client here,” the defence lawyer said, adding that his client should get credit for accepting responsibility with a guilty plea.
Janzen used his chance to speak in court to apologize to his family and to the court.
After hearing the sentencing submission from the lawyers, King’s Bench Justice Scott Abel accepted the recommended sentence and handed Janzen the two-and-a-half-year sentence. Since Janzen will have a year and a half left to serve, he will finish his sentence in a provincial jail.
“I wish you well with respect to your ongoing treatment,” Abel told Janzen.
In addition to jail time, Janzen was also sentenced to a 10-year firearms prohibition.
» gmortfield@brandonsun.com
» X: @geena_mortfield