FILE
The Brandon courthouse.
A man was sent to prison for more than two years for his role as a helper in a drug trafficking network, which a judge said had a "dire" impact on the community.
"Individuals like Mr. [James] Livingstone, who assist those who run mid- and high-level drug trafficking operations … they assist in sort of the destabilization of the community as a whole," said federal Crown attorney Hugh Crawley during the sentencing for Livingstone on Tuesday.
Livingstone, 61, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic a Schedule-1 substance as part of Project Debris, a joint investigation by the Manitoba RCMP, the Brandon Police Service and the Rivers Police Service that culminated in April 2021.
The investigation was launched to probe drug trafficking by one of Livingstone’s co-accused, who is accused of bringing large quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl into Brandon from British Columbia to sell.
Livingstone’s role in the operation was less defined than other people who were charged, Crawley told the court, and he was not the directing mind. He helped in the network where needed, at times reluctantly, and was not involved in actually selling the drugs at the street level. He was also not involved in the fentanyl aspect of it.
That support included registering a vehicle for one of his co-accused and acting as a driver for the person accused of being at the head of the operation, Crawley told the court.
"Mr. Livingstone would also run errands for [the co-accused], both of a non-criminal nature and some which were associated to the requirements of this drug trafficking network," Crawley said, adding Livingstone was either aware or willfully blind to what was happening.
Some of the driving included going out to collect debts or assisting other people, Crawley said.
During one outing on March 12, 2021, police pulled Livingstone over when he was driving the man accused of leading the network, and found a gun in the vehicle, Crawley said.
After that, Livingstone helped him maintain control over the network from jail, according to the Crown.
Livingstone was arrested in April 2021, when police executed a search warrant at his residence. They found various drug-trafficking paraphernalia and methamphetamine, Crawley said.
Even though Livingstone didn’t have complete knowledge of the operation, Crawley said he was still a participant in the conspiracy to traffic drugs in Brandon — but at the lower end than other people charged in the investigation.
Livingstone is remorseful for his involvement and sometimes didn’t have all the information on what he was doing, defence lawyer Candace Olson told the court.
"He really is only involved on the periphery or on the fringes … a lot of times he’s really being used to run errands," she said.
Livingstone was only involved because of his partner at the time, who was also charged in Project Debris, Olson said. He was "reluctantly" involved and sometimes out of fear.
At the time he was also using meth, and getting involved was a way to access the drug, Olson said. Despite this, he has been sober for approximately a year.
His son, Mitchell Livingstone, was also recently sentenced to more than six years in prison for his own involvement in the network.
Both Olson and Crawley jointly recommended a sentence of 30 months in prison for the crime, minus time already served.
Speaking to the court through tears, Livingstone apologized for his role in the operation.
Judge Donovan Dvorak said he had "no doubt" the multi-kilogram trafficking network "significantly impacted this community and surrounding communities in very dire ways."
"At first he may not have known the specifics of what he was doing in each task when he was assisting, but he certainly was aware of the nature of the organization," Dvorak said, adding Livingstone assisted in "small ways" in operating the network.
He endorsed the joint recommendation, sentencing Livingstone to approximately 30 months in prison, minus time already served. He also banned him from owning restricted weapons for life and a 10-year ban on owning any firearms.
Livingstone was led into custody by Manitoba Sheriffs at the end of the hearing.
Several others charged in Project Debris are still before the court and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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