15 months in jail for man involved in street-level drug 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 »
A man who was involved in street-level trafficking of methamphetamine was sentenced in Brandon provincial court to 15 months behind bars.
“This isn’t a victimless crime. When you involve yourself in the drug subculture, you’re encouraging the presence of it in the community … You’re contributing to the addiction and downward spiral of other people’s lives and all the garbage that comes into the community,” Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta said.
Rudy Contois pleaded guilty on Monday to a single count of possessing methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking and two counts of failing to comply with his release order.
The Brandon courthouse on 11th Street. (Matt Goerzen/The Brandon Sun files)
In October 2024, police were looking for Contois’ co-accused and saw him driving his vehicle. Officers stopped the vehicle, in which Contois was a passenger, the court heard.
Crown attorney Serena Ehrmantraut said the police arrested the two men, and Contois admitted to having methamphetamine.
She said officers found a small baggie in his pocket and 91 oxycodone pills, nearly three ounces of methamphetamine, multiple cellphones, a scale and more packaging materials inside the vehicle.
“The majority of that being under the front passenger seat where Mr. Contois was sitting,” Ehrmantraut said.
Police analyzed the cellphones, and it was “made clear that there was street-level trafficking going on,” she said.
The Crown consented to Contois’ release the following day with conditions that included a curfew and a cash deposit. Five days later, when police did a curfew check, Contois was not at his residence.
He returned a few hours later, and officers arrested him. He was taken into custody before being granted bail on a $1,000 cash deposit.
He was arrested again after officers saw him at the Empire Inn Hotel during his curfew hours and has remained in custody since.
“Trafficking methamphetamine in such a substantive quantity is obviously concerning and dangerous to the public,” Ehrmantraut said.
The Crown and defence lawyer Bruna Maciel jointly recommended a sentence of 15 months. Ehrmantraut said Contois had the equivalent of 447 days in custody — just shy of 15 months.
Maciel said Contois found himself involved in the criminal justice system as a result of intergenerational trauma, and while she didn’t go into the details, she said he presented with “significant Gladue factors.”
Once released, she said he plans to go to a recovery centre in Winnipeg to address his addiction.
Hewitt-Michta said that while the proposed sentence was on the lower end, she was prepared to go along with it and gave him credit for his guilty pleas. She emphasized that he’s responsible for his own actions.
“I get that things have happened to you in the past that are not fair, that sort of paved a particular spot for you … but you are here because you made choices that were wrong, and you need to reflect on that,” she said.
» sanderson@brandonsun.com