Whether a drug dealer knew he was selling heroin or a more potent substitute was an issue in Prince George provincial court on Tuesday, when Aron Leif Gray Johnson, 28, was sentenced to slightly less than six more months in jail.
When police executed a search warrant on Johnson's 2200 block Redwood St. apartment on Jan. 31, 2013, they seized what they thought to be 8.43 grams of heroin in powder form.
But a subsequent lab test showed it was actually Fentanyl, a more powerful cousin to heroin.
"People routinely die from taking Fentanyl, thinking it's heroin," Crown prosecutor Neil Lauder said.
In April and May 2013, police issued two warnings that Fentanyl was on Prince George's streets after two people died while using the drug, one in November 2012 and one in April 2013.
After some discussion, Judge Michael Brecknell accepted that Johnson did not know he was selling Fentanyl and not as a result of willful blindness.
"Mr. Johnson, I think in this situation, was himself misled," defence lawyer Jason LeBlond said. "And I'm sure that someone who was higher up in the chain knew that it certainly was not heroin and they knew there were certain risks and yet they produced it and gave it to their lower salespersons as heroin."
The value of the Fentanyl was estimated at $2,573 to $4,215. Police also seized 35.9 grams of cocaine valued at $3,600 to $4,300, and found $325 in cash lying on the living room floor and a further $825 in Johnson's jeans.
A battering ram had to be used to break down the door because Johnson had locked it when he stepped outside the apartment to meet police. And when they entered, they found an image of the apartment building's entrance on a large screen television and later discovered a surveillance camera had been installed outside.
Johnson remained in custody for a subsequent three months and five days before he was released on bail to a surety near Fort St. John, where he found work and had remained employed while being subject to a strict curfew, the court was told.
Johnson was selling drugs in part to support a drug habit of his own and because he was in financial trouble at the time, the court was told. Since out on bail, he managed to pay back a $2,800 debt he owed to ICBC and regain his driver's licence while holding down a steady job.
He eventually pleaded guilty to two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking and asked that he be given a jail term rather than a conditional sentence order. Although they are served at home, conditional sentence orders tend to be for longer terms and include restrictions like curfews and Johnson had told his lawyer he wanted to get the matter over with.
However, Lauder noted that since November 2012, conditional sentence orders can no longer be applied to trafficking-related convictions.
LeBlond had argued for a jail term of four to six months less the time Johnson had already spent in custody on the matter, but Brecknell agreed with Lauder's call for nine months less time served. Johnson was also issued a 10-year firearms prohibition, ordered to provide a DNA sample and ordered to pay $200 in victim surcharges - $100 for each count.
A woman who was also arrested at the scene, Jamie Lynn Redpath, 30, pleaded guilty in December to possession of methamphetamine and was fined $300 plus a $45 victim surcharge.
Although police had identified Johnson as a prolific offender, he has just two related previous convictions on his criminal record, both for possession of a controlled substance from incidents in October 2005 and October 2010.
Johnson was also among four arrested following an October 2012 invasion of a 2100 block Norwood Street home but the charges were later stayed due to a lack of evidence.
