Kamloops gun club to gain rare rifle after drug traffickers’ sentencing
KAMLOOPS – The city’s gun club is the unlikely beneficiary of a heavy sentence levied against a drug trafficker sentenced today in Kamloops Supreme Court—they will take custody of a rare, valuable collective rifle police confiscated.
Terrence Arthur Dean, 64, was sentenced to five years in prison today, March 30, after he earlier pleaded guilty to trafficking heroin, cocaine, meth and marijuana along with holding several illegal weapons May 1, 2013.
Police arrested Dean after pulling him over for speeding when he travelled from Hope to Kamloops April 2013. Kamloops RCMP tracked his Dodge Caravan after receiving a tip from a confidential informant. When officers searched his vehicle, they recovered close to $6,000 in cash along with a kilogram of meth. Police later searched Dean’s Aberdeen home and recovered roughly $150,000 worth of cocaine, heroin, meth and marijuana along with $38,095 in cash and several restricted weapons. including a flare gun modified to fire ammunition. Police seized two Tasers, four non-restricted firearms and respective ammunition.
As part of the sentence, Justice Dev Dley allowed a request by both Crown and defence lawyers to turn the gun over to the Kamloops Target Sports Association rather than have it destroyed.
“It’s anticipated this particular item will actually draw a great number of enthusiasts. (Dean) wanted only that concession to be made. He was prepared to give up on all other firearms,” defence lawyer Sheldon Tate said.
Court heard Dean had no criminal history prior to his involvement in the drug trade. Tate said his client was forcibly retired from the construction industry because of an injury he sustained. To make ends meet, Dean began trafficking.
“I’m done with this whole thing. I’ve been threatened. My family’s been threatened,” Dean said after hearing Dley’s sentence.
Before passing sentence, Dley noted Dean’s early guilty pleas, his cooperation with police investigation and compliance with bail.
Dean will serve two years for his drug charges along with three consecutive years for his weapon charges.
To contact a reporter for this story, email gbrothen@infonews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.nther
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7 responses
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Jim Bob..oh trust me I raised two boys, alone into adulthood! Working hard as a waitress in a small town! Never did I resort to illegal activities and never will I. The people he is dealing that dope to are addicts..he isn’t helping the crime in this city by doing any of this! My dad was forced into early retirement as well but he made do on his small pension w/o selling poison to other humans nor having illegal weapons! way more things he could have done if it weren’t for greed IMO.
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Are you serious? Meth, Cocaine and Heroine and you are going with the “He’s just misunderstood” line? Get real. He should consider himself very luck that he only got two years.
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Good job RCMP, this is the best use of these fine firearms. Destruction would have been a crime.
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He deserves it. It’s bad enough out there already, and you have these type of assholes trying to kill you and your kids as well. 2 years is not enough for such a hardened criminal. Love the gun.
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