A BC Supreme Court judge found a Prince George man guilty Dec. 18 of possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking and unauthorized possession of a restricted firearm.
Justin David Dupray, born in 1995, had been charged with possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition, but Justice Kathleen Ker decided he should instead be convicted of the lesser and included offence of unauthorized possession of a restricted firearm.
Dupray’s co-accused on the drug charge, 1996-born Tor Liam Green, was found not guilty.
Prince George RCMP seized guns, cocaine and $9,000 in cash from residences on McIntyre Crescent in early 2021. It took until June 2022 for the charges to be approved and announced.
The case was tried intermittently, between May 27 and Sept. 18 of this year.
Ker said she had to decide whether the Crown had proven beyond reasonable doubt that Dupray and Green were in possession of cocaine and Dupray in possession of the firearm.
“It is clear to the totality of the evidence that Mr. Dupray was engaged in a drug trafficking enterprise,” Ker said in her oral verdict.
Ker said the items police found included a loaded 9mm Glock, a “distinctive looking dime bag” containing cocaine and an envelope containing cash, some of which was loose and some of which was fastened with elastic bands.
Ker also described communications obtained by police, particularly WhatsApp messages.
Ker said Green was in a different position than Dupray. Though positively identified on surveillance video, evidence seized by police was “too little and too inconclusive” to find Green guilty of possession of the cocaine.
“The prosecution’s burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt is a heavy one, complicated when the case is entirely circumstantial,” Ker said.
A pre-sentencing report on Dupray is scheduled to be complete by Feb. 24. Ker scheduled March 3, 2025 for a hearing to determine when Dupray will be sentenced.
