A Prince George man well known to the city's police and courts has been sentenced to a further three years and 97 days in jail for a gun-related charge stemming from a confrontation with police in Beaverly.
Colin Michaud Durrand, who has been described as a violent offender with ties to the city's illicit drug trade, was issued the term last Monday in Prince George Provincial Court on a count of possessing a restricted or prohibited firearm.
The term was issued after Durrand pleaded guilty to six counts related to the April 7, 2023, incident when police had responded to report of a suspicious vehicle in the 10500 block of Hartman Road
The officer who first arrived on the scene was met with a pickup truck that was twice backed into his vehicle before the driver fled on foot, according to RCMP. With the help of a dog and handler and the North District RCMP emergency response team, Durrand was apprehended.
Durrand was also sentenced to a concurrent term of 2 1/2 years for a separate count of possessing a restricted or prohibited firearm from a March 29, 2022, arrest when, according to RCMP, he was found with body armour and a loaded high-calibre rifle with high-capacity magazines and had tried to ram a police vehicle before he was apprehended.
That arrest occurred at about the height of a gang conflict related to the drug trade that RCMP believe was behind the trio of homicides recorded last year.
A day after Durrand was arrested, RCMP picked up Sebastien Goudreau who was allegedly found with two loaded, restricted weapons, body armour, cash and a large quantity of suspected fentanyl, according to RCMP. That matter remains before the court.
No arrests have been made in relation to the homicides.
In all, Durrand was sentenced to five years on the lead count but received 633 days of credit based on 1 1/2 days for each day spent in custody prior to sentencing.
Durrand was also sentenced to concurrent terms of one year in jail for two counts each of possessing a firearm contrary to an order and knowingly occupying a vehicle in which a firearm is present and one count each of dangerous driving and possessing a an unauthorized weapon (non-firearm), to six months for possessing stolen property over $5,000, to 60 days for two counts of resisting arrest and to 30 days for possessing body armour without a permit.
Durrand was also issued an 18-month driving prohibition on the dangerous driving count.
Charges against Ashley Marie Jensen, a co-accused in the Beaverly incident, were stayed.
