A former Prince George man who pleaded guilty to possessing heroin for the purpose of trafficking has taken enough steps to turn his life around that he has avoided time in jail.
Instead, Ryan James Watt, 25, was sentenced Monday to two years probation with a suspended sentence after B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ron Tindale found he had met the threshold for “exceptional circumstances.”
In fall 2015, RCMP received a tip Watt and two others may be involved in drug trafficking. Investigators began a surveillance detail on a Leland Road property where he and his girlfriend were living.
They noticed Watt using his girlfriend’s car to make quick stops or “short meets” around the city, a sign he may be selling, and on Oct. 29, 2015, he was arrested, as were two others, when they met at in a parking lot off Highway 16 West.
RCMP found slightly more than two grams of heroin and $660 cash on Watt and a subsequent search of the home uncovered drug trafficking paraphernalia.
By that time, Watt had accumulated a fairly lengthy criminal record and was serving a term of probation. Although none of the convictions by that point were for drug-related offences, Watt had committed the crimes to feed his addiction, the court had heard.
In May, he was released from custody to complete a treatment program.
He did so successfully and is now receiving ongoing counselling for drug addiction in Vancouver.
Watt has also enrolled in a business administration program at a Lower Mainland college and, pending the outcome of the sentencing hearing, had a job lined up in the Okanagan before school begins.
He and his girlfriend are now the parents of a seven-month-old child, it was also noted.
There was also some issue as to whether the heroin Watt had on his possession was actually meant to be trafficked.
It was not clear if the weight of the heroin also included the baggies it was found in and the amounts were in irregular amounts. The total value of drugs found was $530 at the bulk level.
Crown prosecution was seeking a jail term of six to nine months and cast some doubt on Watt’s plans to get his life in order. As a fallback, Crown argued for 60 to 90 days in jail, served intermittently, followed by a term of probation if exceptional circumstances were demonstrated.
Tindale found the standard was met and endorsed defence counsel’s position on sentencing.
“At this juncture in his life and given his young age, he has finally made the mature step to try to deal with his addiction,” Tindale said.
“I think we would be impeding that process with an intermittent sentence.”
Conditions of his probation include having no contact with three others arrested as part of a larger investigation – Colin Michaud Durrand, Brian Robert Vining, and David Shane Burlew – and staying out of city limits until May 1, 2018.
Watt also continues to serve two years probation, issued in May, for a pair of drug-related assaults.
Watt’s girlfriend initially faced charges, but they were stayed.
