One of five men charged in drug trafficking ring takes plea deal

One of the five men accused of operating a drug trafficking operation in Kelowna, with links to the Red Scorpions gang, has taken a plea deal.

Last fall, the Kelowna RCMP announced charges had been laid against five men dating back to an investigation that began in November 2017.

Police said the “extremely complex and demanding” investigation culminated in 15 search warrants at homes and one office building around Kelowna and led to the seizure of 5.5 kilograms of fentanyl and carfentanil, three kilograms of methamphetamine, 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, along with GHB, ecstasy, and other pharmaceutical drugs.

A number of firearms and more than $130,000 in cash was also seized by police during the raids.

Last week, 27-year-old Nickolas Parisee pleaded guilty to one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking, and in return, the Crown dropped the other three possession for the purpose of trafficking charges he was facing. All of the charges stemmed from an April 17, 2018 incident in Kelowna.

Through the plea deal, Parisee avoided jail time, and was given two years of probation instead. He had no prior criminal record.

The other four men charged in the “Project E-Precedent” investigation – 28-year-old Travis Cumming, 35-year-old Jason Keehn, 30-year-old Jonathan Sierra and 28-year-old Benjamin Bridger – have charges still before the courts.

In a Civil Forfeiture suit filed against Cumming in June 2019, the government said police began surveilling Cumming in November 2017 and first arrested him for drug trafficking on Dec. 2, 2017. He was found with methamphetamine and fentanyl, along with more than $7,000 in cash.

He was released from custody, but was arrested again on Dec. 20, 2017 and April 17, 2018.

Following his last arrest, police executed a search warrant at a home on Wintergreen Crescent, where Cumming was allegedly living. The civil suit claims police found a wide variety of drugs around the house, including fentanyl, several bottles of codeine syrup, methadone, a variety of pharmaceutical drugs and “unknown white powder,” along with tens of thousands of dollars in cash and a nine-millimetre semiautomatic handgun.

The date of Cumming's last arrest and the subsequent search of his home matches the date Parisee's charges stem from, although their connection is unclear.

In February of last year, a BC Supreme Court judge ruled the BC Civil Forfeiture Office could keep close to $70,000 in Canadian cash it had seized from Cumming during the April 2018 raid, ruling the cash was proceeds of criminal activity. Cumming had claimed the cash was not proceeds of criminal activity, and said the RCMP's search of his home had been "without the requisite grounds."

The filing of the Civil Forfeiture suit, and the judgment in the government's favour, all occurred before any criminal charges were filed against Cumming.

Meanwhile, Keehn is facing six trafficking charges and 10 firearms charges, Sierra is facing three counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking and Bridger is facing four possession for the purpose of trafficking charges and two weapons charges.

Civil Forfeiture proceedings have not been initiated against any of the men other than Cumming, and the circumstances around the others' arrests remain unknown.

Cumming, Keehn, Sierra and Bridger's case will all be back before the courts later this month.

Police did not disclose the five men's suspected links to the Red Scorpions gang, and it's unclear why it took several years for all of the five men's charges to be laid.

Keehn, Sierra, Cumming and Bridger all remain out of custody while their cases move forward.