A Charlottetown woman who was caught with a variety of drugs including sedatives and marijuana was sentenced Wednesday to more than six months in jail.
Theresa Ellis-Rankin, 19, appeared before Chief Judge Nancy Orr in provincial court in Charlottetown for sentencing after previously pleading guilty to possessing Clonazepam for the purpose of trafficking.
She also pleaded guilty to possessing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking, possessing cannabis resin and failing to attend court.
Federal Crown attorney Chris White told the court that on April 28 Queens District RCMP pulled over a vehicle Ellis-Rankin was in after they responded to a complaint of an erratic driver.
The police found an unmarked pill bottle in the centre console, and Ellis-Rankin, who was a passenger in the vehicle, told them she bought the sedative Clonazepam on the street.
White said the RCMP found several kinds of drugs in the vehicle, including Clonazepam, methamphetamine, marijuana, cannabis concentrate known as shatter and a syringe with what was believed to be cannabis oil.
Ellis-Rankin took full responsibility for the drugs, saying she was a recovering addict and told police she sold marijuana.
She had no criminal record at the time.
White said the presence of multiple kinds of drugs was an aggravating factor and he suggested a sentence of six to eight months in jail was appropriate.
Defence lawyer Yolande Murphy told the court Ellis-Rankin had a difficult childhood and struggled with mental health and addiction issues.
Orr said a pre-sentence report prepared for the case was of limited benefit because Ellis-Ranking didn’t want a lot of people contacted for it.
Along with the jail time, Ellis-Rankin will be on probation for two years after her release.
Orr imposed a weapons prohibition and ordered Ellis-Rankin to provide a DNA sample for the national databank.
Ellis-Rankin also forfeited several items, including a digital scale, a roll of plastic wrap, plastic baggies.
