B.C.'s Civil Forfeiture Office is alleging a Quesnel man's car and cash are proceeds of crime.
Ryan David Gillman is named the defendant in a notice of claim filed this month by the CFO's director in B.C. Supreme Court in relation to a May 24, 2021 arrest in the community of about 10,000 people 116 kilometres south of Prince George.
In it, the CFO says that shortly after 8 p.m. the RCMP received a report of a 2000 Mercedes Benz S500 V being driven erratically. Roughly four hours later, Mounties saw Gillman exit a gas station and walk towards the car.
When asked for his driver's licence, Gillman entered the vehicle and opened the centre console, revealing a glass pipe, while an empty beer bottle was seen in the passenger side door.
Gillman, in turn, displayed signs of nervousness and possible intoxication, according to the claim, and he was instructed to perform a sobriety test. During a pat-down search, police found a loaded handgun in his waistband.
A search of the car uncovered a bag containing 7.02 grams of fentanyl, divided in to five baggies "generally bundled in a manner consistent with drug trafficking" along with 7.18 grams of crack cocaine and 7.03 grams of powder cocaine.
Police also found $3,830 in cash, mostly in $20 bills, along with two cellphones and two batons.
Gillman has a criminal record, the CFO says, and goes on to note that he has been charged with a half-dozen firearm-and-weapon-related charges from the arrest. A four-day trial on the matter is set to begin July 20 in Quesnel provincial court, according to court records.
The vehicle and the money were used by Gillman "to engage in unlawful activities which variously resulted in, or were likely to result in, the acquisition of property or an interest in property, or caused, or were likely to cause serious bodily harm," the CFO alleges.
Gillman has not yet filed a response and the allegation has not yet been tested in court.
