A pair of drug offences sent a local man to jail during Monday provincial court proceedings in Estevan.
Daniel Lowenberg appeared in court in handcuffs after spending the last few weeks in custody. The sentencing proceedings came after Judge Karl Bazin found Lowenberg guilty of drug trafficking, drug possession and some breaches of his conditions, the latest of which led to Lowenberg's time on remand.
Lowenberg faced two charge of trafficking marijuana, but for one of the charges, Bazin found him not guilty of trafficking and instead guilty of illegal possession. Lowenberg was carrying 119 grams of marijuana and eventually acquired a licence to possess up to 90 grams.
During the other incident, he was found possessing 264 grams and $1,900 in cash, and it was for that charge that Bazin found him guilty of possessing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.
A pre-sentence report was completed for Lowenberg, who wasn't represented by a lawyer for his trials, though Legal Aid did argue sentencing for him on Monday.
The federal Crown prosecutor Eric Neufeld suggested a jail term of six months would be appropriate for the offences. He said a community-based sentence would set him up for failure.
Neufeld said Lowenberg has made progress since he was first arrested but told Bazin he would benefit most from treatment while in custody.
Greg Wilson, acting as Lowenberg's Legal Aid lawyer, called for a community sentence, considering Lowenberg's rich supply of community supports and the fact he had an opportunity to work and would be living at his boss's house where he would have someone to watch over him and keep him accountable.
Wilson said if the judge was considering a jail term, there was lots of discretion in terms of length, calling six months in jail the high end. He suggested a three or four-month period would be a proper length. With Lowenberg's remand time of more than a month counting toward his sentence, it would mean he would already be nearing a potential release date.
Bazin decided to sentence Lowenberg to five months in jail less remand time, which counts on a 1:1 ratio.
In other court proceedings on Monday, Rodney Beatty was scheduled to enter pleas to charges of fraud, theft and using a forged document. His matter was adjourned by his lawyer to Jan. 13, and on that date the matter is marked for pleas or a possible resolution to the charges.
