ESTEVAN — A man who was charged in a drug trafficking case last year has pleaded guilty and was sentenced June 15 in Estevan Provincial Court.
Geoffrey Wade Hirst, age 36, pleaded guilty to one count each of possession for the purpose of trafficking (PPT) cocaine, possession of Canadian currency obtained by crime under $5,000 and public mischief by misleading police.
Two other charges, trafficking cocaine and drug possession, were stayed.
Hirst had been scheduled to stand trial on the public mischief charge on July 2, and was to appear in court on the other charges that same day.
As per the terms of a joint submission, Hirst received a 504-day sentence on the PPT cocaine charge, less remand time, along with concurrent sentences of 270 days for the Canadian currency offence and 180 days for the public mischief charge.
He has been in custody since he was arrested on Aug. 1, 2025, which defence attorney Aleida Oberholzer said amounts to 318 days; with enhanced credit for remand, it works out to 477 days. He has 27 days remaining on his sentence.
Federal Crown prosecutor Kathryn Gilliss said on July 31 of last year, the Estevan Police Service (EPS) took a call from an anonymous caller who claimed that a person, staying in Room 211 at Estevan's Tower Inn, had pointed a silver handgun at the complainant in the hallway of the hotel. The person who pointed the firearm also allegedly had drugs in his room.
A news release from the EPS at the time noted hotel rooms had to be evacuated and the Estevan/Weyburn joint tactical support team was deployed.
Hirst and a co-accused in the case, Trisha Coulter, were staying in room 211, Gilliss said. The EPS conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle belonging to Hirst and Coulter regarding the call and cocaine trafficking. During the arrest, Gilliss said police located 18 dime bags of cocaine and C$1,890. Police also found a room key for another Estevan hotel.
At the accommodations, Gilliss said police located $2,930 in Canadian currency, 35 dime bags of cocaine, a gram of methamphetamine, a laptop and scoresheets that indicated trafficking transactions for known drug users in the community.
“There were also digital devices and a number of search warrants obtained,” said Gilliss.
She noted it was a “pretty substantial” amount of drugs and cash that were seized. Gilliss added Hirst has a criminal record, although the charges are unrelated.
Provincial Crown prosecutor Suzanne Wurtz added the report of the person pointing the firearm led to the charges. She noted a police investigation revealed the call to be false.
Hirst will also be subjected to a 10-year firearm ban and a mandatory lifetime restricted firearm ban.
Oberholzer said Hirst’s upbringing was “unstable”. He has worked in the oilfield and construction sectors. Oberholzer pointed out Hirst worked steadily until suffering a workplace injury, which led to drug use.
“The defendant didn’t arise from a long-standing criminal lifestyle, but more from an intersection of trauma, addictions, physical injury and deteriorating judgment,” said Oberholzer, adding substance use was Hirst's central motivator for offending.
Hirst has abstained from drugs while in custody, Oberholzer said.
In accepting the submission, Judge Mitch Miller asked Hirst if he thought about the impact of trafficking in the community. Hirst said he has.
“What you did impacts the community in a big way, and … unfortunately I see that in the courts every week, the ramifications and the effects of illicit drugs in the community, and it’s not a pretty picture," said Miller.
In Hirst’s case, the judge said it resulted in jail time.
Coulter's matters are still before the court.
