MOOSE JAW — Ryan Kupser will spend the next two months in jail for trafficking fentanyl that a Crown prosecutor says posed a risk to users because it was mixed with other substances.
Kupser, 45, from Regina, appeared by video in Moose Jaw Provincial Court recently, where he was sentenced after pleading guilty to several counts of theft, one count of breaking and entering to commit mischief, one count of breaching a curfew order, two counts of possession of a Schedule 1 substance for trafficking and one count of possession of property obtained by crime.
The Crown stayed several other charges.
As part of a joint submission, the judge sentenced Kupser to 975 days in jail. However, because of how long he had been on remand since his arrest, the court credited him with 911 days in jail, which means he had 64 days left to serve.
The judge also imposed a lifetime firearms prohibition on the Regina man, ordered him to provide a DNA sample, and waived the victim fund surcharge.
Court heard that without remand time, Kupser could have been sent to a federal jail for 25 months for the trafficking offence.
The charges of trafficking and possessing property obtained by crime occurred in Moose Jaw on Feb. 13, 2024, after police executed a traffic stop on the 1000 block of Stadacona Street East after discovering a suspected impaired driver, federal Crown prosecutor Connor Ferguson said.
Kupser gave police a false identity and false birth date, while officers arrested him for possessing a vehicle that a Regina resident had reported stolen, the Crown continued. Police also found three cellphones, fentanyl and crystal meth in the vehicle.
The methamphetamine weighed 35.6 grams and had a street value of $3,560, while the fentanyl weighed 67.3 grams and had an estimated street value of $5,384, Ferguson noted.
Police also found “a substantial amount” of Pokémon cards and sports cards — 25 boxes — in their original packaging, which officers suspected were stolen and would be exchanged for illicit drugs, the federal Crown added.
A police analysis determined that the fentanyl had been altered with benzodiazepines, which created “a significant risk factor” for users compared to standard fentanyl, Ferguson said.
Continuing, Ferguson said he wasn’t suggesting that Kupser was aware of or was the one who altered the substances. However, he pointed out that when individuals traffic substances and are unsure about quality control, “it puts the public at a significant risk, which can’t be overlooked.”
Furthermore, Ferguson said that this was a situation where Kupser made a “bad decision on top of (a) bad decision” because he allegedly drove impaired, drove a stolen vehicle, had illegal substances on him, had stolen items and gave police a false ID.
The federal Crown added that Kupser’s criminal record started in 1999 and continued until 2018, while his crimes — which included other drug charges — stretched from British Columbia to Manitoba.
Provincial Crown prosecutor Rob Parker summarized Kupser’s other offences, which included several incidents of theft from a clothing store in Regina, a break-in at a Regina business and breaking into an abandoned home, all between 2019 and 2023.
Defence lawyer Drew Hitchcock said Kupser is originally from Revelstoke, B.C., has health challenges and has a drug addiction. However, he had been clean from drugs after spending the last 17 months in jail, while he planned to leave Regina because there were too many “triggers” there.
Hitchcock added that with the fentanyl that was allegedly altered, there was no expert evidence provided to confirm that.
The judge accepted the joint submission and imposed the recommended sentence on Kupser. She also told him that with his time being sober in custody, she hoped he had a plan to become a “contributing member of society.”
