Photo: Kathy Michaels

FILE-Kelowna law courts

A Kelowna man who rolled into a 7-Eleven parking lot with a meth pipe and an array of drugs in the car he was driving was found not guilty of several trafficking charges and another possession charge.

In a decision posted online, John Andrew Dunn, 41, was found not guilty of three counts of possession for the purposes of trafficking with respect to fentanyl and cocaine, and one count of simple possession of methamphetamine.

He was, however, found guilty for driving while prohibited.

It was Dec. 1, 2021, when Dunn drove a Ford Mustang to a 7-Eleven store on Gordon Drive in Kelowna, and was arrested for driving while prohibited.

The arresting officer searched Dunn and found he was carrying a meth pipe, $440 in what was described as a man-purse, and additional currency of $400 in his wallet, the decision by Justice Michael Stephens reads.

When police then went to search his car, they found a closed Under Armour bag, which was referred to at trial by a Crown witness as a lunch bag, and near to it was a smaller black case that, when later opened, containing a second meth pipe.

The Under Armour bag was full of drugs. Crown counsel said police found 54.2 grams of fentanyl, 33.3 grams of cocaine, and 14.7 grams of methamphetamine.

There was also a set of brass knuckles in the car door pocket.

Const. Paul Mounsey was a witness called to testify by the Crown and he told the court that 33.3 grams of cocaine would be valued at between $1,800 to $2,000.

He also said testified that 54 grams of fentanyl would, if sold in bulk, be approximately $4,800 to $5,000. He testified that meth sold for $40 a gram, and that 14.7 grams of meth would cost around $200 at the low end.

Dunn denied that he had been trafficking drugs when he was called to testify in his own defence and said he was driving a borrowed vehicle.

Stephens said Dunn is currently residing in a treatment facility, and in 2021, he was living about four blocks from the 7-Eleven on Gordon Drive when he borrowed a friend’s car, despite being prohibited from driving.

He testified that when he was arrested, he had his personal-use meth pipe on his person though no meth.

He’d already dipped into his own supply earlier that day and was actively struggling with an addiction he developed in his early 20s, Stephens said.

“He testified when he was in the car, he had noticed the Under Armour bag on the passenger seat of the car which was closed. He testified he had no idea what was in it and would not have gone for a drive if he had known that,” Stephens said.

“He testified he had no connection with methamphetamine in the Under Armour bag, or any of the substances in that bag.”

He also said he did not know who the substances in the bag might belong to, and that the second meth pipe didn’t belong to him.

“It is suspicious that Mr. Dunn, a methamphetamine user at the time, was driving a car where a bag containing substances alleged by the Crown, including methamphetamine, was present— but that is not consistent only with him knowing drugs were contained in the closed bag,” Stephens said.

“In short, there is circumstantial evidence at trial from which one could argue that Mr. Dunn had knowledge of the substances in the lunch bag and the Ford Mustang. However, this evidence is insufficient to prove Mr. Dunn's knowledge of the contents of that bag beyond a reasonable doubt.”

As for driving while prohibited, Dunn admitted that to be the case.