Judge scolds drug dealer before sending him to prison
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On Ontario Court judge scolded a young Brantford man found with drugs and weapons.
Tyler Brandon Cameron, 26, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for trafficking and possession of restricted and unlicensed weapons. He got a four-year prison sentence after being convicted of operating a drug operation at his Hardy Road home.
“The weapons in the residence are clearly the tools of the drug trafficking trade and presented a significant danger to the public and to any person in that home at any point in time, “Justice Colette Good told Cameron at his sentencing hearing.
“That’s a very aggravating feature in this case, especially considering the rash of prolific gun violence that has occurred in this city in the past year.”
Assistant Crown attorney Michael Dean agreed, saying being in possession of firearms, such as a loaded handgun and a sawed-off shotgun, both of which had been stolen, called for a serious penalty.
“One only needs to open the newspaper to see the latest in the spree of gun-related violence in the Brantford community and in surrounding communities,” said Dean.
Last Aug. 21, in response to a coroner’s warrant in a death at the Hardy Road address, police entered the home and could see firearms and drugs in plain view. They secured the residence while awaiting an appropriate search warrant and, the following day, found 143 grams of cocaine, valued at almost $15,000, almost $5,000 in a closet safe and guns.
Along with the illegal weapons, Cameron had unlicensed guns, including an old Colt handgun, a revolver-style BB gun and two flare guns modified to fire .22-calibre ammunition.
Police also found about $34,000 worth of marijuana plants, electronic scales, a coin counter and currency counter and a lot of packaging material for drugs.
Cameron was arrested, along with three other men, aged 23, 26 and 31, and a 20 year-old woman.
Each was charged with about 30 drug and weapon offences but the charges were largely dropped against all but Cameron.
“I can tell this is not how your parents raised you,” said the judge after reading Cameron’s pre-sentence report.
“With everything you had going for you it’s difficult for this court to fathom the poor choices you made.”
Good said Cameron was protecting his “stash” with weapons that posed a risk to anyone who visited the Hardy Road house and the drugs could have been a lure to others to break in.
“If that doesn’t cause you to shake your head, think about all the people you’ve harmed in this community by making those drugs available to them. You knew how addictive this drug was but you chose to deal.”
Cameron pleaded guilty in 2018 to having bear spray in his possession.
Good credited Cameron with already serving 431 days of his four-year sentence. He was sent to a penitentiary for a further 1,029 days or just over 34 months.
Cameron was also given an order to provide a DNA sample for the national offenders databank and ordered not to own or use weapons for the rest of his life.
SGamble@postmedia.com
@EXPSGamble
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