A man who was arrested while carrying 126 prescription pills, almost seven grams of cocaine and more than 37 grams of heroin cut with fentanyl inside his body was found guilty of drug possession and trafficking charges Monday.
Justin Hopkins, 34, was arrested last May for breaching conditions of a court order, after police saw him in a vehicle with three people from whom he was banned from contacting.
Officers took Hopkins to the St. John’s lockup, where it was discovered he might be carrying something inside a body cavity. He was transferred to hospital and put in a dry cell — a cell with no plumbing or running water.
The next morning, Hopkins produced a package – wrapped inside the cut-off finger of a rubber glove – that he told police was heroin. A day later, he gave them four more packages, this time telling police they contained pills and cocaine.
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In total, police seized 6.8 grams of cocaine, 37.2 grams of heroin — later discovered to contain fentanyl — and 126 pills, including sedatives lorazepam and clonazepam and sleeping aid zopliclone (which is not a drug included in the Controlled Drug and Substances Act). The total estimated value of the drugs, according to Const. David Emberley of the RNC/RCMP Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, is between $15,483 and $30,519.
Hopkins was charged with five counts of possessing drugs for the purpose of trafficking. It’s not clear why he was carrying the drugs internally at the time of his arrest.
On Monday, provincial court Judge David Orr convicted him on three of those counts – for the heroin, lorazepam and clonazepam – and found him guilty of simple possession in relation to the cocaine.
Orr issued a stay on the fentanyl charge, agreeing with Hopkins’ lawyer that it was contained in the heroin in an unknown amount, and there way no proof Hopkins knew it was present.
“The fact that he had it in his own body lends some support to the contention that he did not (know it was present in the heroin),” Orr wrote in his decision.
Crown prosecutor Elaine Reid argued Hopkins’ guilt on the possession for the purpose of trafficking charges, pointing to Emberley’s testimony and his opinion that the quantities of the drugs suggested more than just personal use.
It would be unlikely for a person to carry such a high amount - 370 doses - of heroin for themselves, Emberley said. He said the same for the cocaine, adding it is so common in this province, there’s no need to stockpile it. The officer also noted Hopkins had not been carrying any straws, mirrors or other paraphernalia used to ingest the drugs.
The pills were loose together in plastic bags when they were seized, and Emberley said this is consistent with how drug dealers store them. People taking medications legitimately generally keep them in labeled pill bottles or daily organizers, he said.
Defence lawyer Erin Breen argued Hopkins had addictions issues, and there wasn’t evidence to prove he was carrying the drugs for the purpose of selling them. She pointed out there was no money, scales or debt sheets recovered, and police hadn’t searched the car Hopkins was arrested from or examined it for evidence of drug use.
Orr agreed with the Crown, for the most part.
“While it is accurate to note that there was no evidence of any of the usual indicia of trafficking, there was evidence of the quantity of the drug in the case of the heroin and the fact that there were five different drugs in Mr. Hopkins’ body cavity,” the judge wrote. “It is highly unlikely that an individual would keep drugs in this way for personal use given the availability of the drugs (with the exception of the heroin) for purchase.”
The evidence relating to the cocaine wasn’t as black and white, Orr noted, since the amount of it wasn’t outside what a heavy user might consume in three days, according to Emberley.
Hopkins will be back in court for a sentencing hearing May 8. That hearing will also include another matter: at the time of his arrest, Hopkins had just been released on bail for drugs and weapons offences. He was later acquitted of the drug charges, but found guilty of possessing a knife for a dangerous purpose.
Twitter: @tara_bradbury
