THUNDER BAY - A Thunder Bay woman with serious substance abuse issues was sentenced to six months of jail time on Thursday for selling drugs to an undercover police officer in February.
Sheri Hamilton, 55, pleaded guilty to a number of offences on Thursday, July 23, including two counts of theft under $5,000, breach of probation and a breach of recognizance.
She also pleaded guilty to trafficking a controlled substance related to an incident from mid-February.
Federal crown attorney Ronald Poirier said on Feb. 17 an undercover police officer attended a residence on Lincoln Street and indicated he wanted to buy drugs. A woman, identified as Hamilton, answered the door and invited the officer into the apartment. The officer was sold $60 worth of cocaine. The next day, the undercover officer returned and a similar transaction took place.
With respect to the theft charges, Hamilton was caught stealing items from Shoppers Drug Mart in late 2019 and again from Winners in early February.
Court heard from Hamilton's counsel, Brennan Sacevich, who told the court his client suffers from serious drug addiction and was diagnosed with HIV and Hepatitis C more than 25 years ago as a result of intravenous drug use.
“She has had an off and on battle with addictions since then, there has been a period where her drug use has lessened significantly and that is also reflected in the significant gap in her criminal record," Sacevich said.
A joint sentence recommendation submitted by defence and crown counsel was accepted by Justice Chantal Brochu.
Hamilton was sentenced to six months of jail time minus the time she has already served in pre-sentence custody.
Going forward, she has 10 days left to serve and will also be required to comply with probation conditions for a period of 12 months.
She also received a 10-year weapons prohibition.
