WEYBURN — Trafficking methamphetamine in the Estevan area has resulted in a 3 1/2-year custodial sentence for a woman.
Candace S. Montgomery was sentenced Dec. 18 in Weyburn Provincial Court. She pleaded guilty to one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking methamphetamine, while one count of trafficking meth was stayed.
She also pleaded guilty to one count of assault, which was a lesser charge than the count of assault causing bodily harm that she initially faced. Montgomery received a 15-day concurrent sentence. She also pleaded guilty to one count of violating the terms of a release order, while another release order charge was stayed.
The 3 1/2-year custodial sentence amounts to 1,275 days. She had been in custody since Oct. 29, meaning she had been incarcerated for 51 days since her arrest. Montgomery was given remand credit of 77 days, so she has 1,198 days left to serve.
Crown prosecutor Kathryn Gilliss noted that in the fall, the Estevan Police Service received information that Montgomery was trafficking cocaine from a residence in the 800 block of Isabelle Street.
Gilliss said the EPS gained enough information to conduct a search warrant. Police went to the residence on Oct. 27, and Gilliss said the EPS located 165.6 grams of methamphetamine, three chunks of methamphetamine weighing 6.1 grams and a third bag weighing 320.3 grams, for a total of 492.1 grams or more than a pound. According to Gilliss, the street value of the drugs, depending on how they were sold, could be $6,300 and $14,000.
Gilliss said Montgomery was arrested Oct. 29 during a traffic stop while returning from Regina. Police conducted a search and located 14 grams of cocaine, a small amount of fentanyl and 20 grams of methamphetamine.
The sentence falls within the range for drug trafficking, she said, and Gilliss also noted the impacts that drugs have on mental health. Gilliss also noted Montgomery had no previous criminal record, but she was on release orders from Regina at the time of her arrest.
Defence attorney Joelle Graham noted that Montgomery is of Métis descent. Consequently, Graham sought an exemption to the 10-year firearm prohibition to allow Montgomery to hunt for sustenance. Judge Mitch Miller said the province’s chief firearms officer will have the final say. Also, Graham asked Miller to recommend that Montgomery’s sentence be served at a healing lodge; the judge said he would, but Miller won’t make the decision.
Graham noted Montgomery first tried cocaine at the age of 14 and used it recreationally until she tried crack cocaine at the age of 18. She continued with cocaine until she was 21, when Graham said Montgomery switched to methamphetamine.
Prior to her arrest, Graham said Montgomery was on the wait list for the addictions program at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Estevan, and Montgomery was also seeking treatment.
“She wants very badly to get the treatment that she knows she needs,” said Graham, who added Montgomery wanted to get sentenced so she can get into treatment.
Miller, echoing Graham’s statements, noted that Montgomery’s recreational use led to addiction and then criminality, which he said is not uncommon. And he asked Montgomery a question he often has for those convicted of drug trafficking – if she had thought about the impact it has on others. Montgomery said she had considered the issue.
“We see the misery caused by drugs in this community on a regular basis. I’m glad you have thought about that. I’m glad you are taking that seriously,” said Miller.
