The former chief of a Kamloops-area First Nations band is behind bars after pleading guilty to a string of firearms offences.

Nelson Leon, who spent nine years as chief of the Adams Lake Indian Band before suffering defeat in 2015, has been handed a four-week jail sentence.

The 55-year-old pleaded guilty in Kamloops provincial court to seven charges, including careless use of a firearm, unauthorized possession of a firearm, obstructing police and domestic assault, as well as a number of breaches.

Court heard Leon was caught shooting a semi-automatic firearm near his Chase residence in the early-morning hours of Aug. 14, 2016.

In addition to the jail time, Leon will be banned from possessing firearms for five years.

The domestic assault charge to which Leon pleaded guilty stems from an incident in Chase on Sept. 5. For that, he was placed on a one-year probation term and ordered to surrender a sample of his DNA to a national criminal database.

Leon finished second last year in the Adams Lake Indian Band’s election for chief, losing by 75 votes to Paul Michel.

In May, Leon filed a petition with the band’s community panel, requesting the removal of Michel, who was briefly ousted from his post before being reinstated a few weeks later.

In 2015, Leon ran for regional chief of B.C., finishing in fourth place. That election was won by former Tk’emlups Indian Band chief Shane Gottfriedson, who stepped down in March after posting a controversial photo on social media.

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The Federal Court of Appeal has found the B.C. government erred in its responsibility to protect the environmental and financial interests of the Coldwater Indian Band during the process of approving Kinder Morgan’s licence to continue operating the Trans Mountain pipeline on the band’s reserve territory.

The decision represents a win for the band and Chief Lee Spahan, who has contended the existing easement agreement — signed by the band in the 1950s — exploits Coldwater’s resources and land without adequate compensation and is in dire need of renegotiation.

The original easement agreement (signed by the band administration at the time) allowed for the construction and operation of the pipeline through the reserve starting in 1952. As part of the agreement, the Trans Mountain Oil Pipe Line Company agreed to make a one-time payment to the Coldwater band of $1,292, plus $1,125 to cover damages and loss of timber during construction.

After a series of mergers and acquisitions in the mid-2000s, the Trans Mountain Oil Pipe Line Company came under the control of Houston-based Kinder Morgan, which triggered a process through which the federal government was forced to review and re-approve existing easement agreements with First Nations.

But the Federal Court of Appeal ruled the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs had not updated the terms of the 1952 agreement to include items like adequate financial compensation or modern environmental protections for the Coldwater band.

“The minister [of Indigenous Affairs] is not a referee, as the courts have put it. She is supposed to be in Coldwater’s camp . . . The standard was as though she was managing her own land,” said Matthew Kirchner, lawyer for the Coldwater band. “As I said to the court in the oral hearing, none of us would have agreed to this transaction if it was our land. But the minister went ahead and did it for Coldwater.”

The ruling from the Federal Court requires the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs to renegotiate an easement agreement that satisfies the interests of the Coldwater band, Kirchner said.

“We are very happy that the court recognized the importance of our land to the Coldwater people and that it is holding the Crown to a high standard of conduct in making decisions about our land,”  Coldwater Chief Lee Spahan said in a release. “The council has always believed that the minister  was not looking out for our best interests in this deal and it is gratifying to finally have that confirmed by the court. Now things must change. This is a great day for Coldwater and all First Nations.”

The Coldwater Indian Band is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 2 for a different case regarding the the route for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, which would see the pipeline pass over lands that act as a recharge area for the band’s aquifer.

On this front, Spahan vowed to continue the fight against the expansion project.

“Within the last two or three years, due to the drought concern, the water in the Nicola Valley is very low. The Coldwater River is like a creek right now. We need to be looking after our watersheds, which go into our aquifers, which feed our communities,” Spahan said. “We need to really look after that to make sure we have it not only for today, but for future generations, also.”

— Cole Wagner, Merritt Herald

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A suspect has been charged in a weeked attack in which an Edmonton officer was stabbed and four people were injured when they were hit by a rental truck fleeing police.

Abdulahi Hasan Sharif faces five counts of attempted murder, five counts of dangerous driving and one weapons-related charge.

Although police have said that terrorism charges are expected, none have yet been laid.

Sharif, 30, is a Somali refugee once investigated for allegedly espousing extremism. He is scheduled for a bail hearing in provincial court on Tuesday morning.

Edmonton Police Chief Rod Knecht has said the events of Saturday night appear to have been the work of a single person.

It started when a police officer handling crowd control at an Edmonton Eskimos football game was hit by a speeding car that rammed through a barrier and sent him flying five metres through the air. The driver got out, pulled out a large knife and began stabbing the officer.

A suspect was taken into custody by police hours later after a chase through downtown Edmonton in which four pedestrians were purposely hit by the driver of a speeding U-haul van.

— The Canadian Press

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The condition of a Kamloops teen who was beaten into a coma last year has improved, according to his mother.

But she said her son’s condition could regress at any time.

Jessie Simpson, now 20, has been in hospital since he was attacked in the early-morning hours of June 19, 2016, outside a home in Brocklehurst.

After spending months in a coma, he began to wake up following a brain surgery in January. Since then, Simpson’s condition has fluctuated and he has been sent to Royal Inland Hospital’s intensive-care unit multiple times.

“Right now, he’s doing well,” Susana Simpson, Jessie’s mom, told KTW.

But she said that could change as he was scheduled to undergo kidney surgery on Monday.

In June, a B.C. Supreme Court judge declared Simpson legally infirm, appointing his mother to act on his behalf.

Kristopher Teichrieb is facing charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault in connection to the attack that landed Simpson in hospital. His trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 8.

Friends have said Simpson was out celebrating high school graduation with a group of friends before he was attacked.

A trust account has been set up to help Simpson cope financially with his substantial injuries for the rest of his life. Donations can be made at any TD Canada Trust branch using transit No. 07900 and account No. 6496246. Donations must be made to “Susana Simpson in trust for Jessie Simpson.”

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A Kamloops man has been sentenced to 30 days behind bars after admitting to “a moment of weakness” more than five years ago in which he groped his daughter’s teenaged friend during a sleepover.

The 50-year-old man, who cannot be named due to a court-ordered publication ban protecting the identity of his victim, pleaded guilty in Kamloops provincial court to one count of touching for a sexual purpose a person under 16 years old.

Court heard the incident took place at the man’s home in 2011. He was watching a movie with his daughter and her friend, both 13, when the friend fell asleep.

He reached over and rubbed the friends privates over her pyjama bottoms. The girl woke up while the touching was taking place, but pretended to remain asleep.

The incident came to light years later when the girl reported it to a sexual-assault counsellor.

The man was charged in September 2016.

“I take full responsibility for what happened,” the man said in court. “I can’t really express how sorry I am. I know that I’ve harmed my family.”

The man told court he hasn’t spoken to his daughter in two years as a result of the incident, noting he missed her high school graduation.

Crown prosecutor Frank Caputo had been seeking a sentence of 90 days, while defence lawyer Don Campbell asked for a sentence of between 14 and 45 days behind bars — time he wanted served on weekends.

Campbell sought weekend jail in part, he said, because of fear for the man’s safety if he were placed in general prison population and the circumstances of his offence became known. Weekend jail inmates are generally kept separate from those serving straight time.

Caputo argued prison officials have protocol to ensure an inmate’s safety.

Kamloops provincial court Judge Stephen Harrison ordered the 30-day sentence to be served consecutively.

“It was a moment of weakness — a criminal moment at that,” Harrison said. “She was someone who was in a vulnerable situation. She had reason to expect that she’d be safe with [the man]. It turned out that was not the case.”

Once he is released from prison, the man will spend 18 months on probation, with orders barring him from contacting the victim and being alone with anyone under 16.

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A Kamloops teenager who took part in an attack outside a North Shore mall last year won’t have a criminal record if she can stay out of trouble for nine months.

The girl, now 16, pleaded guilty in Kamloops provincial court on Thursday to assault. The charge stemmed from an incident that took place on Sept. 1, 2016. Her name cannot be published under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Crown prosecutor Don Mann said the girl was with two friends when the trio began harassing someone outside Northills Shopping Centre.

“They told him he was not supposed to be there,” Mann said, noting the victim was hit with a skateboard and punched in the face, then thrown into a pole.

“The accused then comes up and spits right in his face — a very disgusting display of behaviour, I would suggest,” Mann said, noting the victim suffered a black eye and was taken to hospital, where he received stitches on his nose.

The girl has no previous criminal record, court heard, and she no longer associates with the two other teens involved in the attack.

Calling her actions “disgusting,” Kamloops provincial court Judge Stella Frame urged the teen to be cautious when picking friends.

“That sense of belonging, that sense of group, it devolved pretty quickly into the pack mentality,” she said.

Frame gave the teen a conditional discharge and nine months of probation, meaning her record will be wiped clean if she completes the term without breaching her conditions.

“When you pick your friends, when you pick your actions, when you make your decisions, just remember, everything you do will either open a door or slam one shut,” Frame told the teen.

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VANCOUVER —  Taxpayers are footing the bill to fly sheriffs around British Columbia as the province grapples with a chronic shortage of the courtroom staff and frustrated judges speak out about delayed and stayed cases.

Attorney General David Eby said the government is working to train more sheriffs to provide courtroom security while dealing with the problem of police forces luring recruits with higher pay.

“We have a very serious issue with a shortage of sheriffs in the province and we are currently flying some sheriffs from courthouse to courthouse to make sure we have enough sheriffs to keep courthouses open,’’ Eby said in a recent interview.

“It’s obviously a significant public expense to do that.’’

Eby said part a $20-million NDP platform commitment has been earmarked to deal with the shortage, adding he is concerned the issue could erode public confidence in the justice system.

Lack of sheriffs is a longstanding problem that surfaced under the previous Liberal government, Eby said, noting a low salary is one of the key retention issues.

“Many of them are being hired to work as police officers instead of staying on to work as sheriffs because of very significant pay disparity between working as a sheriff in court and being a police officer,’’ he said.

Chief provincial court judge Thomas J. Crabtree said court facilities can’t operate without appropriate security.

“B.C. Sheriff Services members are located in each courthouse across the province to ensure the safety of court users while on court property and in courtrooms, including members of the public, witnesses, victims, the judiciary, legal counsel and parties,’’ Crabtree said in a statement.

Dean Purdy, vice-president of Corrections and Sheriffs Services for the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union, said 14 deputy sheriffs have left in the last four weeks and 90 per cent of them have been recruited by police forces.

“They’re trying to plug holes where they can,’’ he said of sheriffs who escort the accused from holding cells and provide security in courtrooms.

“They’re triaging the courts. They know which judges will squawk about not having security in their courtrooms and speak out and which judges won’t.’’

The shortage of sheriffs has led to problems across the province and most recently on Vancouver Island, Purdy said.

Two high-profile drug cases were among those thrown out in Victoria because a deputy sheriff wasn’t available.

A trial delayed for hours last week in Victoria because there was no sheriff had a provincial court judge calling the situation “appalling.’’

“We’re pleased to see that judges are speaking out about this issue because the security and the safety of the public and the courts and court staff is paramount,’’ Purdy said.

There’s a $36,000 gap between the top average salary of a sheriff and a police officer and that has RCMP and municipal forces, along with transit police in the Vancouver area, “actively and aggressively recruiting both correctional officers and sheriffs,’’ Purdy said.

“It costs approximately $30,000 to train a new recruit and it just doesn’t make sense from a fiscal standpoint.

“I know you certainly wouldn’t run a business that way, to pay for new recruits to be trained, bring them in, only to have them leave, sometimes months later,’’ he said.

“We’re not saying that both corrections and sheriffs need to be paid the same as police because they’re not police, but they need to close that gap about halfway just so they can retain good, highly trained sheriffs and correctional officers because they’ll continue to leave as long as that incentive of a significantly higher wage is right there in their sight.’’

Sheriffs are required to pay back $11,000 of the training cost if they leave in the first two years of their job, Purdy said.

Union representatives are scheduled to meet with Eby on Oct. 17, the second meeting with the new attorney general since last month, he said.

Bentley Doyle, spokesman for the Trial Lawyers Association of B.C., said limited court time is wasted when trials don’t go ahead because a sheriff isn’t available.

“In that sense, sheriffs and judges are equally important, as both are required in order to make the system run,’’ he said in an email statement.

“There are too many cases in need of trial time. Courtrooms cannot be dark during the workweek.

“Justice delayed far too often ends up being tantamount to justice denied.’’

— Camille Bains, The Canadian Press

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A woman accused of drunkenly causing a deadly car crash east of Kamloops nearly three years ago has been ordered to stand trial in B.C. Supreme Court.

Carla Rose Grinder is charged with one count each of impaired driving and causing an accident resulting in death.

Both allegations stem from a 2014 single-vehicle rollover crash near Pritchard.

At the time, Chase RCMP said they responded to the wreck five kilometres west of Pritchard on Shuswap Road at about 3 p.m. on Dec. 6, 2014.

Police said the vehicle was travelling west when it veered off the road and down a steep embankment.

The driver and one passenger were taken to Royal Inland Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, but 39-year-old Sheila Ignace of Chase was pronounced dead at the scene.

A date for Grinder’s trial has not yet been set.

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A former Thompson Rivers University student-athlete who was convicted in May of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old girl after a New Year’s party nearly three years ago has been ordered to serve three months in prison.

Matthew Rittinger was sentenced on Wednesday in B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops. He will be allowed to serve his sentence on weekends.

Rittinger was 23 when he met two young women, one 18 and the other 19, at a party on Dec. 31, 2014.

He invited them to his house after they had trouble finding a ride home.

Rittinger had been charged with the sexual assault of both women, but was convicted only of sexually assaulting the 19-year-old.

Court heard he aggressively groped her and tried to take off her clothes after she told him she wanted to sleep.

“Mr. Rittinger was persistent despite hearing the word ‘no’ more than 20 times,” B.C. Supreme Court Justice Hope Hyslop said in her decision.

“This offence requires a period of incarceration.”

Rittinger, a former member of TRU’s varsity golf team, lost his human-resources job as a result of the sexual assault.

Court heard he has also been banned from visiting TRU’s campus.

The Crown had been seeking a jail sentence of between four and six months, while Rittinger’s lawyer proposed a conditional discharge or probation.

In addition to jail time, Rittinger must also register as a sex offender for 20 years and surrender a sample of his DNA to a national criminal database.

He will also be prohibited from possessing a firearm for 10 years.

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A former National Hockey League enforcer who missed court earlier this year is expected to stand trial in December on allegations of breaching probation and failing to appear.

Rudy Poeschek’s trial on the breach charge had been scheduled to take place in Kamloops provincial court on June 2, but he was a no show and a warrant was issued.

He was subsequently arrested and re-released, now facing an additional charge of failing to appear in court. A trial has been scheduled for Dec. 7.

Poeschek, 50, has told KTW his memory is failing him. He said the breach charge was laid after he forgot about a meeting with his probation officer. He also said he nearly forgot to show up to a previous court date last year.

Poeschek is one of a number of former NHL players suing the league, alleging officials there knew of the dangers posed by repeated head injuries and concussions.

In a series published in KTW in 2015, a Boston-based neurosurgeon suggested Poeschek may be suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disease found to have afflicted many former hockey and football players.

Dr. Robert Cantu described CTE as being similar to Alzheimer’s disease. He said it can affect impulse control and memory.

“It’s essentially caused by rattling your brain around in your head — a lot,” he told KTW.

CTE played a prominent role in a lawsuit filed by former National Football League players against that league. In that case, the two sides reached a settlement in 2015 believed to have been worth more than US$1 billion. CTE can only be diagnosed after death. Researchers confirmed this week that Ty Pozzobon, the Merritt bull-rider who killed himself earlier this year, had CTE. It has also been found in the brains of dozens of former professional football players and multiple hockey players.

Poeschek was an enforcer in the NHL over parts of 12 seasons. He was selected by the New York Rangers in the 12th round of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft while playing junior hockey for his hometown Kamloops Blazers.

After a playing career that ended in 2001, Poeschek was arrested eight times while living in Tampa, Fla., culminating in a March 13, 2005, demolition derby in his upscale neighbourhood that landed him behind bars. He moved with his family to Kamloops after his release from a Florida jail.

Poeschek was on probation as part of a sentence he received after pleading guilty to a string of criminal charges — one count of assault and three of driving while prohibited — in 2015. He was jailed 45 days and placed on an 18-month probation term.

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A win for a New Brunswick resident challenging the ability of provinces to restrict cross-provincial liquor sales would be a boon for local vineyards, said an industry advocate.

A coalition of small B.C. wineries have been granted intervenor status in a Crown appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Gerard Comeau was charged with possessing liquor not purchased from the New Brunswick Liquor Corporation and fined $292.50 after police stopped him on his way home from Quebec with 14 cases of beer and three bottles of liquor in his trunk.

He took the case to court and a New Brunswick trial judge ruled that the charge violated constitutional law, overturning a ban on bringing alcohol across provincial boundaries.

The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear a Crown appeal.

Trish Morelli, executive director of Kamloops Wineries Association, said a confirmation of the lower court decision would allow producers here to ship direct to consumers in other provinces.

“Most of our wineries don’t have enough inventory to go through liquor boards,” she said.

“I know how much people out east want B.C. wine but they just can’t get it.”

Direct shipping would also be more profitable for the small wineries, she said.

The Supreme Court of Canada hearing is set for Dec. 6 and 7 this year.

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A young Kamloops woman who hasn’t been seen by family members since last Thursday is one of the alleged victims listed in a domestic-violence indictment sworn the day after she was last seen, KTW has learned.

Taylor Wilson is the subject of a missing-person news release issued by police late last week.

In the release, Kamloops RCMP Staff Sgt. Robert Daly said the 18-year-old’s family is growing “increasingly concerned” about her safety.

“She is not known to go missing,” Daly said in the release.

Jeremy Krug, also 18, was arrested on Friday and charged with breaching conditions by contacting Wilson, uttering threats to another woman and obstructing police.

The allegation involving Wilson dates back to June 23, while the other counts are alleged to have occurred on July 29.

Krug has no adult criminal record. He is expected to appear in Kamloops provincial court on Friday for a bail hearing.

Kamloops RCMP Cpl. Jodi Shelkie was asked for an update on the search for Wilson.

“Right now, we have a missing person and it’s Taylor Wilson,” Shelkie told KTW.

“That’s all we can really comment on.”

Anybody with information on the whereabouts of Wilson, who is also known by the surname Harris, is asked to contact the Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3000 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).

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A Kamloops man has been ordered to spend six months in prison for a robbery he committed more than six years ago.

Shane Londry pleaded guilty in Kamloops provincial court on Tuesday to one count of robbery stemming from an incident at the Brock Centre Liquor Store on Aug. 15, 2011.

Court heard Londry, now 28, walked into the store and grabbed a bottle of Captain Morgan rum.

As Londry approached the till, he pulled a large kitchen knife from his sleeve and passed a note to the clerk.

“He said, ‘Please let me go, this is my information, I need help — call the police,’” Crown prosecutor Don Mann said.

Written on the piece of paper was another man’s name, but Londry’s phone number. The clerk and two other witnesses identified Londry in a photo lineup, but he left Kamloops before being arrested.

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The company behind Sun Rivers resort community is in default, its operating line of credit maxed out and its bank accounts frozen, according to testimony from its CEO in court.

Rick Siemens, CEO of Sun Rivers Limited Partnership, gave evidence in small claims court on Tuesday in a payment hearing stemming from a default judgment made against one of the company’s subsidiaries last month.

On Sept. 15, a judge ruled in favour of a Kamloops couple that sued Sun Rivers Construction for $11,200 — the cost of faulty stone cladding installed on their home in the community.

The payment hearing was scheduled to determine how the judgment would be enforced.

In court on Tuesday, Siemens said Sun Rivers Construction is insolvent and the parent company’s operating line of credit is maxed out.

“We still have some land to sell,” he said.

“We have some tool inventory of about $57,000. We have some accounts receivable that we need to collect, but at the present time, we are in default with Interior Savings [Credit Union], so they have frozen our bank accounts.”

Siemens said Sun Rivers Construction also owes more than $1 million to trades workers who have not been paid, $650,000 of which is the subject of ongoing court actions.

According to Siemens, Sun Rivers Limited Partnership is going through an internal shakeup.

“We are working through a restructuring of the whole operation,” he said.

“Under that restructuring, there will be some funds injected into the company by one of the partners. Some of that money, plus the land, will be used to try to negotiate a deal with the trade accounts.”

But, Siemens said, the parent company has no cash for the time being.

“It won’t without a further injection from one of the partners,” he said.

“Right now, being in default with our bank, our hands are tied. We can’t sell off anything.”

Sun Rivers Construction was not ordered to make payments to the couple, but Siemens must keep them up to date on the sale of any assets and debt restructuring.

Outside court, Siemens told KTW the parent company is confident it can continue to build out the community.

“We are working on a restructuring,” he said. “We’re working on carrying on with the development.”

The financial struggles of Sun Rivers Limited Partnership are not connected to other companies developing projects in Sun Rivers.

Siemens said the financial struggles of the company won’t impact homeowners.

“Whether the company continues to develop anything or not, it won’t affect the people already living in Sun Rivers,” he said.

“If we don’t do it, somebody else will. It’s fully developable land. Having said that, we have every intention of continuing on.”

A number of real estate agents contacted by KTW on Tuesday refused to speak on the record about what Sun Rivers Limited Partnership’s financial situation might mean for home prices, but city realtor Vince Cavaliere doesn’t think the issues will change anything.

“I don’t think for the most part anybody should be worried unless their money was paid directly to the [Sun Rivers Construction] company,” he said.

“I wouldn’t be afraid of it. Not at all.”

Kamloops and District Real Estate Association president Cyndi Crossley echoed Cavaliere.

“From what I’m told, this will have no bearing on real estate in the community,” she said.

A deal between Sun Rivers Limited Partnership and a private group led by resident Bill Amy for the sale of Sun Rivers Golf Course and Hoodoos restaurant is expected to close before the end of the year. Last year, Amy had had a previous deal to purchase the golf course fall through.

Amy’s plans include a new clubhouse, a spa and revamped dining options.

He also plans to change the name of the golf course to Big Horn Golf and Country Club.

The purchase price is believed to be approximately $2.5 million, more than half of which Amy has secured in $5,000 shares sold to community members.

It is not uncommon for B.C. resort communities built around golf courses to fall on hard economic times. In 2011, Kamloops Lake development Tobiano and The Falls, in Chilliwack, entered receivership. Both continue to operate.

Sun Rivers is home to about 2,000 people living in approximately 900 homes. The master plan for the development includes a total of 4,000 people in 1,800 homes. It opened in 1999 and welcomed its first residents the following year.

Sun Rivers Limited Partnership is owned by a group of investors led by Austrian Martin Zumtobel. The community is located on leasehold land on the Tk’emlups Indian Band reserve and governed by the band. The lease is slated to expire in 2115.

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The Crown wants a Surrey man busted with fentanyl-laced heroin and other drugs during a traffic stop on the Coquihalla Highway last year to spend four years in federal prison.

But Clayton Johnson’s defence lawyer is arguing the gravity of the fentanyl crisis was not public knowledge at the time of his arrest. Johnson pleaded guilty in B.C. Supreme Court on Thursday to two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

The 40-year-old was pulled over south of Merritt on Jan. 19, 2016, after a passing police officer noticed him behaving suspiciously.

“He looked like he became rigid and he pushed himself back and tried to hide from the officer,” federal Crown prosecutor Anthony Varesi said.

The Mountie ran Johnson’s licence plate and learned he was prohibited from driving. After he was pulled over, Johnson told the officer he was transporting drugs and he was arrested.

A police search turned up nearly four ounces of crystal meth, two ounces of cocaine and nearly two ounces of heroin containing fentanyl.

Varesi said Johnson admitted he was running the drugs for someone else,” Varesi said.

Court heard police also found the hallucinogens DMT and GHB, the so-called date-rape drug, in Johnson’s SUV.

Varesi said Canada’s courts have set a bar for fentanyl traffickers because of the known dangers of the opioid.

“There’s now a national health crisis due to the proliferation of fentanyl and there have been a staggering number of overdose deaths,” he said. “It’s amongst the deadliest of all controlled substances. At the time of this offence, the prevalence of deaths by fentanyl was public knowledge.”

Defence lawyer Jeremy Jensen disagreed, saying the fentanyl crisis was not common knowledge in January 2016.

Even if it was, he said, Johnson might not have known the heroin was laced.

“He arguably doesn’t have a clue about what he’s muling,” Jensen said.

“You have a charge of trafficking fentanyl and fentanyl isn’t even an isolated drug here. It’s a small portion of another drug used to make it more potent.

“This is not a case where a person has X grams of fentanyl and they’re well aware of what it is and they’re selling it as fentanyl.”

Jensen said Johnson was “being used as a pawn” by high-level drug dealers. He suggested a sentence of 12 months in prison followed by two years on probation.

Johnson has a lengthy criminal record, including 22 convictions. Court heard he is a drug addict who has been in recovery  since the offence.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Hope Hyslop is expected to make a decision next week. Johnson remains free on bail.

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Jail could be in the cards for an unlucky Kamloops drug dealer who accidentally texted a police officer, offering a variety of illegal substances for sale.

Joshua Vos, 25, pleaded guilty in B.C. Supreme Court on Thursday to two counts of trafficking in a controlled substance.

Federal Crown prosecutor Anthony Varesi said police became aware of Vos on Sept. 23, 2016, when a Kamloops Mountie received a text from an unknown number from someone identifying himself as Josh.

“My friend, zooms, lucy, molly and mary will be available,” the message read, using a number of street terms for party drugs.

Two months later, an undercover Mountie texted the number looking for molly — a slang term for MDMA, or ecstasy.

Vos sold the undercover officer four grams of MDMA on Nov. 24, 2016, and nearly six additional grams in a separate transaction three weeks later.

In March, the officer texted Vos again looking to purchase more drugs, but Vos said he was no longer dealing.

“He said he’d had a change in morals and no longer sold illegal substances,” Varesi said.

Vos has no criminal record and was described by defence lawyer Jay Michi as a yoga devotee who works part-time as a gymnastics coach and children’s entertainer, dressing up as Spiderman for birthday parties.

“I feel I’ve learned some very interesting lessons over the past couple of years,” Vos said. “I’ve learned it’s not always easy to make the right choice.”

Calling his client’s circumstances “exceptional,” Michi urged B.C. Supreme Court Justice Hope Hyslop to spare Vos jail and place him on a lengthy probation term.

Varesi suggested a jail sentence in the range of nine months. Hyslop is expected to hand down a sentence next week.

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The trial for a Kamloops man accused of beating a teenager into a coma more than a year ago has been delayed.

Kristopher Teichrieb is facing charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault in connection to the June 2016 beating of Jessie Simpson, then 18.

Simpson, now 20, has been in hospital since the attack and Teichrieb has remained behind bars.

Teichrieb’s trial dates were set in July, with a three-week trial scheduled to begin on Jan. 8, 2018. In court on Monday, defence lawyer Jordan Watt, who was retained by Teichrieb after the dates were set, said that will not be enough time.

“The current time that is scheduled for trial is insufficient,” Watt said.

Teichrieb is accused of attacking Simpson after allegedly finding him on his Brocklehurst property in the early-morning hours of June 19, 2016. Friends and family of Simpson have said he was out celebrating high school graduation before the incident.

Teichrieb is due back in court on Nov. 6 to set a new date for trial.

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A Kamloops laundromat has been fined $10,000 after a toxic chemical was found to be improperly stored during a random Environment Canada inspection nearly two years ago.

Lori Ann Decap and Richard Decap’s company, Lorick Ventures, pleaded guilty on behalf of McCleaners in Kamloops provincial court on Monday to two charges under the Environmental Protection Act relating to the improper storage of PERC, a dangerous chemical used in dry-cleaning.

Federal Crown prosecutor Kendra Torvik said an inspection was conducted on Dec. 8, 2015.

“Two open containers that contained PERC [were found],” she said. “The legislation requires that all PERC containers be closed, and they were open.”

Torvik said another two PERC containers did not have secondary containment, another violation of federal regulations.

“My client apologizes,” defence lawyer Jeremy Jensen said. “It was a brief oversight. He’s remedied the problem and it will never happen again.”

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A Kamloops man with a history of robbery convictions has been handed a three-year prison sentence for the “uninspired” hold-up of a downtown bank earlier this year. Shane Michael Grant pleaded guilty in Kamloops provincial court on Monday to one count of robbery. The 41-year-old was arrested hours after the March 31 robbery of the TD Canada Trust branch on Victoria Street. Crown prosecutor Chris Balison said Grant entered the bank just after 5 p.m.

“He attended the wicket and handed the teller a note,” he said. “The note read, ‘I want 200 now. I will be caught. I love people. Don’t worry.’”

The teller placed an undisclosed amount of money and a dye pack in a bag, handing it to Grant.

“Police attended and they learned he departed in a taxi,” Balison said. “When he went in the taxi, the dye pack exploded and he got out and fled.”

Grant was arrested hours later after knocking on the door of the wrong Royal Avenue home looking to buy drugs.

“Mr. Grant got the wrong house and the woman there contacted police,” Balison said. “The woman said Mr. Grant had said something about robbing a bank.”

Based on the description provided by the woman, Grant was found by police a short time later in North Kamloops.

“He was seen to have red dye on his hands and two $5 bills with red dye on them in his front pocket,” Balison said.

The conviction Monday was Grant’s sixth for robbery. Kamloops provincial court Judge Chris Cleaveley called the incident an “uninspired robbery,” handing Grant a three-year jail sentence. He was also ordered to submit a sample of his DNA to a national criminal database.

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A Kamloops man who was literally caught red-handed after robbing a downtown bank earlier this year will spend two years in a federal prison.

Matthew Phillip Graham pleaded guilty in B.C. Supreme Court to one count of robbery.

Crown prosecutor Chris Balison said Graham entered the TD Canada Trust branch at Victoria Street and Third Avenue on the morning of June 9.

“He proceeded to one of the tills and produced a note,” Balison said. “The note said, ‘Please remain calm. This is a robbery. Give me all the cash.'”

Balison said the teller followed the orders, but hid a dye pack in with the money.

A short time later, a police officer a block away noticed Graham walking with red dye on his hands and on his pants. He was arrested and has been in custody since.

Graham, 26, has a very distinct appearance, including multiple tattoos on his face. He made no attempt to cover his face during the robbery.

“This was probably the least sophisticated robbery I’ve seen in some time,” defence lawyer Sheldon Tate said. “This young man, as you see from his physical appearance, is highly identifiable. He entered that day without any attempt to hide his physical markers on his face and body.”

Tate said Graham robbed the bank because he needed money to pay for necessities, noting Graham  confessed to the robbery a short time after his arrest.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Hope Hyslop handed Graham a two-year prison sentence and banned him from possessing firearms for life. He will also have to submit a sample of his DNA to a national criminal database.

That specific branch of TD Canada Trust has been robbed twice this year, with exploding dye being used in both cases.

On March 31, 41-year-old Shane Michael Grant held up the bank and had a dye pack in the bag of money explode as he tried to escape as a passenger in a taxi. Grant was sentenced last week to three years in prison.

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