Kelowna man sentenced for drug, firearm convictions from 2019

Photo: Kelowna RCMP

The handgun seized by police during the May 2, 2019 traffic stop.

A Kelowna man was handed an additional 27.5 months sentence Thursday morning after he was caught by police four years ago with a loaded .45-calibre handgun and several drugs including, fentanyl and carfentanil, in a vehicle near Orchard Park Mall.

Cody Roberts, 35, was arrested on the afternoon of May 2, 2019 after officers saw two men inside a green Dodge Charger near Cooper and Springfield roads, in what appeared to be “an illicit drug transaction.”

At the time, RCMP spokesman Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey said the officers “became increasingly concerned for their safety” during the arrest, and they found a loaded .45-calibre handgun under the driver's seat once the men were in handcuffs.

Police also found 6.73 grams a mixture of fentanyl and carfentanil, 3.7 grams of cocaine and 28.4 grams of methamphetamine, along with brass knuckles and about $8,000 in cash.

Roberts was charged with three counts of possession of drugs along with five firearms charges. During a trial in January, Roberts applied to exclude evidence in the case, alleging police had breached his Charter rights during his arrest.

But after Judge Andrew Tam dismissed the application, Roberts struck a plea deal with the Crown on Jan. 5 and pleaded guilty to one count of possession of fentanyl/carfentanil for the purpose of trafficking and one count of possession of a loaded prohibited/restricted firearm without a licence. The Crown stayed all other charges.

During a sentencing hearing held May 1, Roberts' defence counsel Dave Johnson sought a total sentence of three years for the two convictions, while the Crown sought a total sentence of between four and five years.

Roberts had no prior criminal record and Johnson said Roberts had begun to use opioids about a year prior to his arrest, and developed an addiction. Roberts said he has been clean and sober for about a year and a half.

But Judge Tam noted the principles of denunciation and deterrence should be the dominant considerations when dealing with the trafficking of fentanyl.

Judge Tam ultimately handed down a 32-month sentence for the drug charge and an additional two years for the firearms charge, but he reduced it to a total of 44 months due to the sentencing principle of “totality.”

This principle requires a judge to craft a total sentence on multiple convictions that's not deemed to be “excessive,” and does not “deprive the offender of any hope of… rehabilitation.”

Roberts has been in custody since July 2022, and he was granted 16.5 months of enhanced presentence custody, resulting in an additional 27.5 months to serve. He'll be eligible to apply for parole after serving one-third of his sentence, or a little more than nine months.

Roberts was released out of custody on $1,500 bail last year, but he failed to show up to a July 4, 2022 court appearance. He was taken back into custody a day later. While Judge Patrick Dohm granted him $10,000 bail on July 6, it appears he never made bail, and has remained in custody ever since.

In January, the Crown successfully applied to have Roberts forfeit the $1,500 bail deposit for breaching his bail conditions, but Thursday, the Crown stayed his charge of failing to appear.