A Provincial Court Judge said Wednesday, Dec. 17 that he had a “lingering doubt” about whether a man was guilty of possessing fentanyl and methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking.
In his oral verdict, Judge Peter McDermick said that he did not entirely believe Robert Frederick Basil, who testified in his own defence about the Nov. 16, 2021 offence in Prince George.
McDermick instead ruled there was ample evidence beyond reasonable doubt to convict Basil of the lesser and included offence of simple possession.
McDermick said the trial heard that Prince George RCMP found nearly $5,000 in Basil’s possession, along with 62.48 grams of fentanyl and 18.97 grams of methamphetamine. Police witnesses testified the quantities of the drugs were “outside the scope of personal use.”
Basil admitted in court that he possessed the drugs, but McDermick said he “disavowed possessing any of the drugs for the purposes of trafficking.”
“In cross examination, he gave the following evidence: ‘not all the stuff in the car was mine. I didn’t know there was drugs in the back end of the car.’ He didn’t recall whether he possessed the backpack in question,” McDermick said. “This specific evidence was not clear or sure-footed, nor detailed in nature.”
Officers, however, did not find Basil in possession of the telltale signs of drug trafficking, which contributed to McDermick’s reasonable doubt.
“There are, in summary, some concerns with respect to Mr. Basil’s account,” McDermick said. “But I am also impacted, in this case, by the absence of certain other items that are traditionally associated with trafficking. To wit, multiple cell phones, a scale, any weapons and score sheets.”
A score sheet is slang for a ledger, that traffickers use to record drug transactions.
McDermick said Basil testified that he became addicted to hard drugs over the last 20 years, though he had periods of sobriety.
In the winter of 2021, Basil began using again after he broke up with his girlfriend, was in a significant vehicle accident and stopped working. He said his use increased by spring 2021 to more than a gram per day.
Basil testified that he relied on income assistance and casino winnings, but kept his money and drugs on his person due to distrusting his roommates.
A date for Basil’s sentencing is to be determined.
