A Black Creek man with no prior criminal record has received a 2.5-year jail sentence for drug trafficking.
Tony Levasseur, 33, was sentenced last Friday in B.C. Supreme Court in Courtenay for his role in a mid-level drug trafficking operation.
“I accept that Mr. Levasseur is sincerely remorseful and will unlikely not come before the court again,” said Justice Jennifer Power in a written decision. “However, I am of the view that society’s denunciation of this conduct and the need to deter likeminded individuals who might be inclined to pursue such an activity must be emphasized in this case.
“As Justice Baird said, ‘…people have to know that if they get involved in trafficking hard drugs, they are going to be dealt with severely in the end.’”
Levasseur was facing nine charges, but wound up pleaded guilty to two counts of trafficking cocaine and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking.
His partner, Gregory Matthew Allen, pleaded guilty to five counts of trafficking cocaine and heroin, and two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking. He was also found guilty on two more drug charges.
Allen is scheduled to be sentenced on July 8, and is presently in custody on a different set of drug charges.
As for the the partners, in 2010, police received information the pair was dealing “at the ounce level,” and began a lengthy undercover operation.
On May 13, 2010, Levasseur and Allen sold three ounces of cocaine to an undercover officer. On the second occasion, the transaction took place at the Kingfisher Resort in Royston where seven ounces of cocaine were sold.
On June 19, 2010, Mounties raided the residences of both men. At Levasseur’s home on Macaulay Road in Black Creek, officers found 230 grams of powdered cocaine, 79 grams of crack cocaine, some heroin, and trafficking paraphernalia.
In the kitchen, gloves, baggies, electrical handheld mixers, Pyrex containers, and baking soda were found. These items are consistent with items required to make crack cocaine.
“(Allen) had a leading role in this midlevel operation, but that Mr. Levasseur was intimately involved in the operation and was much more than a courier or an agent. Certainly, the circumstances before me support that,” wrote Justice Power.
During sentencing the court heard that Levasseur did well on bail, worked and was remorseful for his actions. His lawyer asked for a two-year conditional sentence, which Levasseur could serve at home, but the judge disagreed.
“Aggravating factors include that Mr. Levasseur was solely motivated by profit and greed,” she wrote. “…this went on for some time and was not an isolated incident. The evidence supports that Mr. Levasseur was involved in cooking crack cocaine, which is a highly addictive substance and causes untold suffering and misery.”
According to the court registry, Allen is presently in custody awaiting sentencing on this matter and faces a possible trial for a separate incident.
On Nov. 29, 2013, Allen, 36, and Timothy Anthony Taylor, 30, of Comox were arrested for allegedly running a cocaine distributing network that stretched from Victoria to the Comox Valley.
Allen was arrested at his residence in Langford where police found 20 ounces of cocaine and other trafficking paraphernalia.
In a news release, police described Allen as a United Nations gang associate.
