THUNDER BAY — Citing their participation in a "vicious, opportunistic and deadly business," a Thunder Bay judge has sentenced two drug traffickers to lengthy prison sentences.
Adrian Myles Puentes-Reed of Hamilton and Kalid Yousef of Edmonton were recently handed penitentiary terms of nine years and eight years respectively.
The pair was convicted earlier this year of various offences in connection with the seizure in 2018 of drugs, firearms, ammunition and over $500,000 in cash from a residence on Ruttan Street.
Superior Court Justice F.B. Fitzpatrick accepted the joint sentencing submission of the Crown attorney and defence counsel.
The judge said he was "acutely aware of the scourge that the active, violent, lucrative and apparently unending drug trade is having on the community of Thunder Bay and the Northwest region. Persons are attracted to the apparent fast and easy money of preying upon a desperate cycle of poverty and addiction."
He agreed with the Crown that "the facts of this case ... represent an occasion of high-level drug trafficking motivated by greed," and called the cash proceeds seized in this case "astonishing."
The judge added that drug trafficking "leads to ruin," that the offences the two men were convicted of are not without victims, and that these kinds of offences "must carry significant penitentiary sentences."
However, he said he also agreed with the defence submissions that "there is an excellent prospect of rehabilitation for both these two relatively young men once they have paid their debt to society."
Yousuf has no prior criminal record, and Puentes-Reed has a dated one.
Fitzpatarick noted that Puentes-Reed's performance while on strict bail conditions has been exemplary, that he has taken steps to pursue a different career path, that he regrets the choices he has made, and has not taken drugs since his arrest in 2018.
Yousuf is engaged to be married, has a personal record of hard work, is a man of faith, and "deserves a chance to turn away from the effects of the bad decisions that have led him to this place," the judge commented.
He said sentencing must balance an obligation to reflect and protect the interests of society with the particular circumstances of individual offenders.
With credit for time served, Puentes-Reed has 7.4 years remaining in his sentence, while Yousuf has 6.7 years.
