ESTEVAN — One person pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and was sentenced to two years in jail June 9 in Estevan Provincial Court.
Brandon Tremblay, a 28-year-old Lampman man, pleaded guilty to one count each of possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine and possessing the proceeds of crime. He was scheduled to go to trial on July 8 on the charges.
As per the terms of a joint submission, Tremblay received 730 days on the trafficking charge and six months of concurrent jail time on the proceeds of crime offence. But he has spent 226 days in custody, and was given remand credit for 339 days, so he still had 391 days left to serve.
Tremblay was on a conditional sentence order (CSO), stemming from a February 2023 guilty plea for drug trafficking, when he was arrested last October. The CSO was cancelled when Tremblay was charged last year, and he has been in custody ever since.
Crown prosecutor Kathryn Gilliss told the court that on Oct. 27, 2024, the Estevan Police Service conducted a traffic stop and was aware Tremblay was the driver. He had evaded police earlier in the morning, she said, and was placed under arrest for failing to stop for police.
When he was apprehended, Gilliss said officers found a key for a hotel room, and they determined Tremblay had booked a room at the business under his name.
"He was on conditions with respect to a CSO that allowed for police to search without warrant of any vehicle or residence or other property that he owned, possessed, controlled or operated," said Gilliss.
Police entered and searched the room, and Gilliss said they located $3,391 and 17 grams of cocaine, separated into small bags.
Gilliss noted Tremblay had a relatively short criminal record, and she added the conviction from 2023 was probably of the most concern to the federal Crown.
"From the Crown's perspective, this is an appropriate sentence. This is of course a joint submission, and we do feel that in all of the circumstances … that puts us in the position we are [in] when we look at all of the factors associated with the circumstances of the offence, but also the circumstances of the offender," said Gilliss.
Tremblay's defence attorney Joelle Graham said Tremblay was doing well with the terms of the CSO from 2023, but then he slipped and returned to his addiction, which he couldn't support, and so she said Tremblay started selling to support the habit.
"He does advise that in spite of the fact that drugs are fairly readily available in jail, he's been clean and sober since his arrest," said Graham.
Tremblay didn't speak when given the opportunity.
Judge Mitch Miller said the sentence could have been tougher for Tremblay, given his prior conviction, but Miller went along with the joint submission. He told Tremblay he needed to take care of his underlying addictions issues.
He also asked Tremblay to think about what selling drugs did to people in the community.
