Jail time looms for marijuana grower

A 63-year-old man is facing jail time for his role in what Crown counsel is calling a large-scale marijuana grow operation.

During a sentencing hearing Tuesday in B.C. Supreme Court, Crown argued for 12-15 months behind bars for "Ben" Gjisbertus Jacbus Delege while defence counsel contended a term closer to nine months was more appropriate.

Delege and his son, Steven Andrew Delege, 40, were arrested in December 2012 after RCMP executed a search warrant on a 10300-block Pilot Mountain Road home related to an alleged theft of electricity.

Gisbertus blamed the installation of a smart meter for blowing his cover, the court was told.

Police ended up seizing 1,569 plants of which 470 were budding and just two weeks away from harvesting. It was enough to yield 196 pounds of bud and generate $352,800 when sold at the pound level and $870,640 at the gram level, the court was told.

The plants were found in the lower level and basement of the split-level home.

The equipment found included oscillating fans, charcoal filters and apparatus for drying the marijuana. The sophistication of the operation was rated at about mid-range and there was no evidence that organized crime was involved.

Delege pleaded guilty to possession for the purpose of trafficking just as a trial was to start. Charges of production of a controlled substance and fraudulent consumption of electricity are expected to be stayed upon sentencing.

There was some discussion over whether it was the first harvest. When Delege spoke to police he initially claimed the plants were just two months old but when confronted by RCMP conceded they were older. Residue found on the drying screens and the mention of hiring help to harvest the marijuana also suggested it was not the first crop to go through, Crown added.

The Deleges were arrested just after so-called mandatory minimums for drug-related offences came into effect. Had they been arrested before November 2012, conditional sentences - in which the time is served at home - could have been considered.

The verdict on sentencing was delayed until early October, when calving season has ended on the ranch where Delege now works.

Charges against Steven Delege, who faces the same counts, remain before the court.