KAMLOOPS, B.C. — A former paramedic and small-engine mechanic who lost everything to drug use has been sentenced to six months in jail.
Adam Duhamel, 34, must also serve nine months' probation.
He pleaded guilty in B.C. Supreme Court to two counts of drug trafficking.
Justice Ian Meiklem said Duhamel's involvement in a dial-a-dope operation was obvious and that he had no plan to immediately go into drug treatment in order to be let out of jail.
He'd served 75 days behind bars awaiting sentencing.
Duhamel's defence lawyer, Jeremy Knight, read a letter at the sentencing hearing from Duhamel’s father, saying his son's happy childhood was stained by repeated concussions and bullying.
As a paramedic, his father said, Duhamel suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after he was unable to revive a dying infant. He was also diagnosed with mental-health issues.
Duhamel's drug use contributed to his losing a home in Williams Lake, along with his wife and two children, Knight said.
Crown lawyer Anthony Varesi had argued for a nine-month sentence, noting Duhamel was on probation for an unrelated crime when he sold $170 worth of methamphetamine to undercover operators in October 2013.
“Clearly, it was an ongoing dial-a-dope operation,” Varesi said, though Knight said there was no proof that his client was employed in such an operation.
He said Duhamel was a “people pleaser” who was helping the buyer and friends who sold drugs.
Knight had asked for a sentence of time already served since Duhamel was arrested for failing to attend an earlier court date, along with a suspended sentence and probation.
Duhamel was arrested as part of an RCMP crackdown on drug sales in 2013. (Kamloops This Week)
