FORT FRANCES — A Superior Court judge sentenced a Fort Frances man to eleven years in prison for trafficking in fentanyl and cocaine, saying his actions demonstrated a reckless disregard for human life.
The lawyer for Jeremy Johnson, 50, had asked for a conditional sentence of two years less a day, to be served in the community, followed by three years' probation.
Rainy River District OPP arrested him in November 2020 after finding drugs in a pickup truck he was driving that had been involved in a rollover on a rural road.
Police seized almost 450 grams of fentanyl in brick form and about 90 grams of cocaine.
After a jury convicted Johnson of possession of fentanyl and cocaine for the purpose of trafficking in April 2024, Mr. Justice John Fregeau considered the submissions on sentencing from the defence and the Crown.
His reasons for sentencing were released last month.
The prosecution had told the court the quantity of drugs in Johnson's possession was a serious aggravating factor, as was the lethal nature of fentanyl, combined with its impact on vulnerable populations in Northwestern Ontario.
It had also argued the accused was a mid-level trafficker in the drug trade rather than just a drug runner, and that incarceration for 10 to 12 years was appropriate to address the sentencing objectives of denunciation and deterrence.
The defence cited mitigating factors in its call for a sentence much less severe.
It said Johnson was the primary caregiver for two members of his immediate family who both had heath issues, and that he was a "low-to-mid-level" participant in the drug trade.
The defence submitted that the objectives of deterrence and denunciation could adequately be achieved with a conditional sentence in the community while also allowing him to care for his dependents.
Justice Fregeau acknowledged mitigating factors, including the accused's strong support from extended family and friends, that his spouse and child depend on him because of health issues, and that he had suffered serious and life-altering injuries in a workplace accident that led to long-term self-medication with recreational drugs.
But when he examined sentencing precedents established in multiple drug-trafficking trials, he found the amount of fentanyl that Johnson had "far exceeds" the quantities involved in these prior cases.
As aggravating factors, he also pointed to the man's role in the drug trade – saying he was more than just a runner – and to the "extreme danger" of fentanyl.
"The drug kills vulnerable individuals across Canada daily. Fentanyl destroys lives and is a significant contributor to the obvious decline of communities in Northern Ontario," the judge said.
He referenced a Supreme Court decision that stated sentencing judges may consider an offender's willingness to exploit at-risk populations and communities because this increases not only the gravity of the offence but also the moral culpability of the offender.
Justice Fregeau rejected the conditional sentence proposed in this instance by the defence, calling it "grossly disproportionate to the gravity of the offences and the degree of responsibility of the accused."
He said Johnson had demonstrated a reckless disregard for human life and must be held accountable for having chosen, for financial gain, to participate in the distribution of an extremely dangerous drug that's poisoning people in the Fort Frances area.
After granting a credit of six months for the over three-and-a-half years the man spent under stringent bail conditions, the judge imposed a sentence of 11 years in a federal institution.
