A Victoria man found with a loaded semi-automatic handgun and high-potency fentanyl in a Gorge Road hotel parking lot has been sentenced to five years in prison.
In December, Dezmond Anthony White, 27, was convicted of possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking, possession of GHB, occupying a vehicle with a prohibited firearm and possession of a loaded prohibited firearm.
White was arrested with two other men on Oct. 25, 2016.
In his sentencing decision released this week, B.C. Supreme Court Justice John Steeves said when a police officer stopped the car, White got out of the back seat.
“He apparently knew the peace officer and there was a very short verbal exchange,” said Steeves.
The officer noticed a metal reflection in the car door and became suspicious that a weapon was being concealed. He drew his firearm and told White he was under arrest, Steeves said. The officer got closer to the car and saw a handgun in the pocket of the door. He called for backup and other police officers raced to the hotel.
One officer took White into custody and another searched the vehicle. The officer found a Bryco 380 semi-automatic handgun with four rounds in the magazine. DNA testing identified two of White’s fingerprints on the gun.
A sunglasses case in the front seat of the car contained fentanyl and marijuana. A backpack in the back seat had MDMA, fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and other drugs.
Steeves said he found no evidence to link the drugs to White.
A small amount of fentanyl — 0.4 grams — was found on White along with $2,510 in cash, said Steeves, who concluded White was trafficking in fentanyl.
In a hotel room rented by White, police found GHB, drug paraphernalia and documents with White’s name on them.
In sentencing White, Steeves said the fact that the semi-automatic handgun firearm had four rounds in the magazine and was placed within easy reach of White was an aggravating factor.
He also pointed to the potency of the fentanyl, which was found to be 7.4 per cent when a dose of two per cent is fatal. The public danger of fentanyl, which is considered to be more harmful than heroin, is well established, Steeves said. “Fentanyl use is a public safety emergency that is a scourge claiming lives every day in B.C.,” he said.
White’s criminal record was also an aggravating fact, the judge said: White was jailed after convictions for assault in May 2014 and possession for the purpose of trafficking in December 2014.
The five-year sentence imposed by Steeves included two years for possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking, a 30-day concurrent sentence for possession of GHB, 18 months concurrent for occupying a vehicle with prohibited firearm, and a three-year consecutive sentence for possession of a loaded prohibited firearm.
White’s defence lawyer, Brad Hickford, told the court that since being in custody, his client had taken steps to recover from his drug addiction. White, who has worked in construction and in sprinkler installation, started treatment at a residential centre for addiction in May 2017 while in custody.
He was given credit of 321 days for the time he has already spent in custody. He was ordered to give a sample of his DNA to authorities and is prohibited from possessing firearms for life.
White’s co-accused, Michael Phillip Desbiens, pleaded guilty before a different judge. The Crown stayed all charges against the other co-accused, Jeremiah James Hackland.
