Crown seeks 3 years for man who helped stash cocaine

A Crown prosecutor asked for the court to impose a three-year sentence for a man whose property was used to stash cocaine for a local drug-trafficking ring.

The man’s lawyer argued that a conditional sentence — house arrest — of two years less one day would be more appropriate.

Craig Crofton, 59, was one of the 10 people arrested in the Brandon Police Service’s 14-month-long investigation dubbed Project Banish, in which police seized more than nine kilograms of cocaine in 2022.

Crown attorney Serena Ehrmantraut outlined Crofton’s involvement during his sentencing hearing on Monday.

Ehrmantraut said throughout the investigation, police determined that the “leader” of the drug-trafficking organization, Logan Bickerton, had been using different locations to stash drugs, one of them being Crofton’s garage.

Bickerton moved the drugs to Crofton’s garage on June 3, 2022, after the two made an agreement that Crofton would rent the space to him for $250 a month.

Bickerton received a nine-year sentence last year for his role in the drug trafficking network.

Ehrmantraut said Crofton was initially unaware Bickerton was storing drugs in the garage and that Bickerton, along with one of his associates, had exclusive access to the garage.

“There was no evidence that Mr. Crofton had … anything to do with (the drugs) other than simply having them stored in the garage.”

However, the Crown said a camera was covertly installed in the garage in August 2022, and surveillance footage showed Crofton inside the garage several times.

In two of the videos, Crofton examined bricks of cocaine before putting them back. In another, Crofton removes a loose bag of cocaine from a duffle bag, goes out of frame to consume it, and returns it before grabbing it again, consuming more, and returning it again, the Crown said.

On Oct. 14, 2022, BPS staged a break and enter into the garage and removed eight kilograms of cocaine. A couple of days later, police intercepted phone calls between Crofton and Bickerton, during which they spoke about the missing drugs, Ehrmantraut said.

“Mr. Crofton makes clear he’s offering to help find the missing drugs and the people involved,” she said.

The project concluded in November, and Crofton was arrested. He was released that same day on several conditions.

“With respect to the offences themselves, he describes fear as the main motivation as to why he never called police when he discovered the drugs. He advises he was blindsided and set up by the situation.”

While the Crown said she accepted that there may have been an aspect of fear, throughout August and October, Crofton knew about the drugs and chose not to do anything about it.

“This was not a one-off situation where they were discovered and then disappeared. He accessed the garage numerous times throughout those months and had inspected the drugs.”

She said it also doesn’t make sense that he would take some of the drugs for his personal use if he was afraid.

The Crown said it’s mitigating that Crofton pleaded guilty to the offence, has no prior criminal record and complied with his bail conditions for more than three years.

She said there are several aggravating factors, including that Crofton played a role in a high-level cocaine-trafficking network.

“(Cocaine) is extremely dangerous and addictive,” Ehrmantraut said. “This operation as a whole, Project Banish, has contributed significantly to the drug crisis in the city of Brandon.”

Defence lawyer Daniel Gunn said this case is unlike any he has seen in his last 30 years of practice. He said normally a stash person “knows full well what they’re involved with,” but that’s not the case for Crofton.

“What we’re talking about in this case is someone who was a coward,” Gunn said. “Mr. Crofton didn’t have the moral courage and the moral strength — once he found the cocaine — to call the police.”

In the intercepted calls between Bickerton and Crofton, Gunn said it’s clear Bickerton was angry and Crofton ultimately didn’t have a choice but to offer help.

“If he doesn’t offer to help, then he’s the problem,” he said. “He can’t turn and go to the police at that point and say, ‘Hey, there was cocaine stolen from here.’”

He said the surveillance footage of Crofton depicts someone who “doesn’t really know what they’re doing,” and it’s not as if he was breaking the cocaine up or trying to organize it.

Gunn said Crofton decided to try the cocaine because he was curious about the effect it would have on him and that he didn’t have any substance-abuse issues.

The collateral consequences of being charged have been devastating for him, including the loss of his job, the loss of a clear criminal record and the loss of friends, Gunn said.

When given a chance to speak, Crofton said he wanted to clear up some information, as he has been labelled as the “stash man.”

He said he has been a “micro-landlord” for around 25 years and advertised the space in his garage on Facebook Marketplace. He said he questioned Bickerton on what he would be storing in there, and Bickerton listed some items.

About a month later, when he went to check on an issue with the garage door, he noticed the drugs.

“I worked with mental health services for over 25 years, and I work in the downtown area, and I see what the drugs do … to people,” he said.

He apologized for the “crucial error” he made that affected his job, family and friends.

Justice Scott Abel reserved his decision, and Crofton’s matter will appear again in April.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com