A Prince George man who was found with a loaded sawed-off shotgun and a small quantity of drugs was sentenced Monday to four years in jail.
However, the amount of additional time Jamie Noel Racette, 38, will have to serve was reduced by two years through credit for time already spent behind bars. And if he lives up to his conditions, the remainder of his term will be served in the community as a conditional sentence.
One of those conditions will be to attend and complete an intensive six-month addictions treatment program. If he fails, Racette could end up back in prison, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Peter Leask warned during a sentencing hearing at the Prince George courthouse.
Racette has been in custody since Nov. 14, 2013 when RCMP recognized him as he was walking along Victoria Street and checked his backpack. Inside they found the shotgun and a small quantity of methamphetamine.
At the time, Racette was already facing a charge of trafficking from an Oct. 24, 2013 arrest.
Racette was subsequently sentenced to a year in jail after he pleaded guilty to two counts of breach of recognizance but continued to face trafficking and firearms charges.
Of the two types, Leask considered the firearms charges the most serious.
Taking into account Racette's criminal record, Crown counsel had been seeking a lengthy term in federal prison and raised a concern about whether his sentenced would be enough to deter others from committing the same crime.
But Leask decided to emphasize rehabilitation, saying he's prepared to give Racette the opportunity to take the treatment program.
Given a chance to speak to the court, Racette had said the program is his chance to turn his life around rather than "spend the rest of my life in jail."
