Drug trafficker sentenced to 12 years in prison

A man described as being the leader of a drug trafficking network in Brandon was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Tuesday.

“His activities were the kind of things that tear communities apart,” federal Crown attorney Hugh Crawley said. “The kind of thing that makes communities less livable, less pleasant, undermines the safety and protection of the community.”

Jorg Rautenberg, 61, was convicted last week of conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl, along with conspiracy to possess proceeds of crime, intentional discharge of a firearm reckless to the safety of a human life, assault and assault with a weapon.

The conviction came midway through a trial in Brandon’s Court of King’s Bench after the lawyers put together an agreed statement of facts.

“Mr. Rautenberg was engaged in a conspiracy with others in the Brandon, Manitoba, drug subculture to traffic various controlled substances,” Crawley said during Rautenberg’s sentencing hearing.

He said video evidence and intercepted communications showed three “distinct transactions that (Rautenberg) was directly involved in.”

Those transactions covered the three substances he was accused of trafficking — methamphetamine, cocaine and what was referred to as “down,” which contained fentanyl, Crawley said.

He said the “overarching allegation” was that Rautenberg had ties to British Columbia and was selling drugs in Brandon from February to March 2021, when the investigation took place as part of what police dubbed Project Debris.

Rautenberg was arrested and taken into custody in March 2021 for a firearms offence after Brandon police conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle that Rautenberg was a passenger in and found a loaded prohibited handgun. Rautenberg received a six-year sentence for the offence.

He has since served the sentence but remained in custody on these charges. He has the equivalent of 401 days in custody to his credit.

While in custody, Crawley said Rautenberg tried to maintain his control through speaking with co-accused individuals over the jail phones.

“Those communications showed attempt to keep control of his money in particular. I believe it’s referred to in the agreed statement of facts as tens of thousands of dollars,” he said. “You can literally hear the bills being counted on intercepted communications amongst the various co-conspirators.”

He said Rautenberg ultimately lost control of the money, and it disappeared into the network, never being seized.

An expert report, which was provided to the court, described Rautenberg as having a “leadership role” within the group, he said.

“He absolutely did. You can see it in the videos, and you can hear it in the intercepted communications,” Crawley said.

“Mr. Rautenberg was directing, was in charge, and … did so with certainly a degree of control and at times a degree of imposed fear in relation to others who (were) operating within this network,” Crawley said.

Once Rautenberg was incarcerated, Crawley said the organization was fractured and broke apart without his presence.

He described the group as “semi-organized.”

The group was sourcing, selling and distributing substances and collecting the proceeds of crime — which he said shows it was organized. However, there was also a large amount of substance abuse, including by Rautenberg, who Crawley said appeared to be at least abusing alcohol in the video evidence from inside the residence.

“There was clear video evidence of the use of various drugs in the background of a number of the videos that were recorded,” he said.

He said this is what led to some of the “chaos” that resulted in further provincial charges, like the firearms offences.

Provincial Crown attorney Grant Hughes spoke further about the firearm and assault charges.

He cited several firearms cases and said the common thread between them all was that denunciation and deterrence are paramount when considering the appropriate sentence.

“Further, the cases highlight the risk the use of firearms pose to the public at large, and that sentences should not only signal the rejection of such conduct but also prioritize protection of the public from individuals who choose to carry out those sorts of actions.”

He said the victim of the assault and firearm charges was deeply emotionally and physically impacted by Rautenberg’s actions.

Hughes said Rautenberg was deemed a high risk of becoming reinvolved in criminal behaviour.

“There’s also a pattern of pro-criminal thinking and behaviour as presented in this lifestyle in the community and while in custody. Mr. Rautenberg has been documented as having anger management deficits and displaying antisocial behaviour towards the correction staff.”

The Crown attorneys suggested a total sentence of 12 years — six years for the federal conspiracy offences and six for the provincial assault and firearm offences.

The Crown said they would have sought higher sentences for each offence if they were dealt with in isolation.

Rautenberg, who represented himself in court with the assistance of his former lawyer, Silas Koulack, did not dispute the Crown’s suggested sentence.

Justice Scott Abel said a sentence of 12 years was fit and appropriate for the circumstances.

“The gravity and moral blameworthiness for the conspiracy charges are high. Cocaine, meth and fentanyl are hard drugs with deleterious effects on the community,” Abel said, adding that the dangerousness of fentanyl adds to the gravity of the offence.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com