A P.E.I. provincial court judge says he doesn’t believe a man caught with hundreds of Percocet and methamphetamine pills had them for his personal use.
Lucas Edward Gauthier recently made several appearances before Judge John Douglas for trial on charges that included four counts of possessing drugs for the purpose of trafficking.
During the trial, Gauthier testified he took 30-35 Percocet pills and 10 methamphetamine pills per day.
Gauthier said the drugs the police seized were for his personal use.
Douglas said Gauthier’s version of events didn’t make sense and he didn’t believe him.
He found Gauthier guilty.
“At the end of the day I don’t have any doubt,” she said.
There were only two witnesses who testified during Gauthier’s trial as he took the stand in his own defence and the Crown called RCMP Cpl. Andy Cook as an expert.
Cook testified the total of more than 250 Percocet pills and more than 200 methamphetamine pills police seized were indicative of possession for the purpose of trafficking.
A table in the courtroom during the trial displayed more than just drugs the police seized from Gauthier, including some Cook said were common in the drug trade.
Some of the items seized included a collapsible baton, a can of bear spray, a replica Beretta pellet gun, vials, baggies, a scale, pill crushers and some marijuana.
The police also seized more than $1,500 in cash.
Percocet contains acetaminophen, which Cook told the court had a recommended daily limit of 4,000 milligrams.
To reach that level of acetaminophen would take about 12 Percocet pills and users wouldn’t want to go beyond that to be safe, Cook said.
“Now people are not always going to be safe.”
Gauthier testified he was homeless and living in his car with everything he owned when the police arrested him.
He told the court he was paying about $2 per Percocet pill and buying in bulk for his own use of around 30-35 pills a day.
Gauthier said he got addicted to painkillers about 10 years ago after having surgery and took speed to stay awake.
Federal Crown attorney Thomas Laughlin argued Gauthier’s drug use claims would cost anywhere from about $20,000 to $80,000 a year depending on the price.
It was not reasonable that a severe addict could generate that much cash and still have money left over, Laughlin said.
Gauthier will be back in court Feb. 2 for sentencing.
