A man well known to Prince George police and courts received a break on sentencing Wednesday because it appears he has turned his life around.
Kenneth Raymond Thelland, 43, was sentenced in Prince George provincial court to time served and two years probation for one count of trafficking after the court heard of the steps he has taken since he was released from custody nearly a year ago.
In that time, Thelland has moved to a community in the Fraser Valley where he has gone through a 12-step program that regards abstinence as the sole measure for success in dealing with substance abuse.
He has also "divorced himself from the criminal element," Thelland's lawyer, Brian Donnelly told the court.
Thelland was in that element in May 2013 when police executed a search warrant on an 1100-block Cuddie Crescent home. Heroin and crack cocaine with a street value of about $1,000 was seized, as was marijuana and drug trafficking paraphernalia, RCMP said at the time.
A then 32-year-old woman, Crystal Okimaw, was also arrested at the time. She was released shortly afterwards and, in January pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking during an appearance in Kamloops provincial court. However, a warrant for her arrest was issued in April after she failed to appear in court in Prince George, according to court records.
Thelland remained in custody for 166 days before he was released in November 2013 on conditions that included taking the program and coming no closer than 100 kilometres of Prince George.
That condition remains in place as part of his probation. Thelland took in the sentencing hearing via a video link from his hometown.
Thelland has three previous convictions for trafficking, all committed in Prince George. His record also includes two months in jail for possessing or making explosives. He received that term in August 2006 from a March 2006 incident.
