Smuggling drugs into a prison disrupts the balance of power in that turbulent form of society, a judge said in sentencing a woman to jail Wednesday.
Justice Sterling Sanderman sentenced Stacey Lynn Crough, 33, of Red Deer, to two years and four months in a federal prison after she pleaded guilty in Court of Queen’s Bench several months ago to possession of three types of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking.
Sentencing was delayed a few times, first for a change in lawyers then for a pre-sentence report.
The case had dragged on for almost four years after Crough was busted on Aug. 28, 2007 when she was charged when caught with hard drugs and ecstasy valued at about $23,000 in the Bowden Institution setting.
Federal Crown prosecutor John Lee told Sanderman that Crough was caught with 140 morphine tablets, 78 hydromorphone tablets and 42 tablets of ecstasy.
She was nabbed when security noticed her leaving a meeting area with inmate Jonathan Tousigant, 25, and heading into a washroom. She emerged shortly and the pair started acting suspicious.
The drug package was neatly wrapped in two condoms, plastic bags and balloons.
Tousigant pleaded guilty earlier and received a 3 1/2-year sentence on top of his other sentence.
Lee said the morphine drug family is considered more dangerous than cocaine.
He said a message must be sent to the community and society that the penalty for smuggling drugs into jail is serious.
Sanderman said during his time as a defence lawyer and judge he has been to numerous jails.
He said great care is taken to protect not only prison staff but inmates from one another.
Sanderman said a person possessing drugs in jail has power and influence over other inmates.
“You are attacking a well-defined social structure. It’s not like one you or society knows much about.”
He said most people in jail have substance abuse problems and drugs compound levels of violence.
Lee, who argued that jail was necessary, said assaults, intimidation, overdoses and sexual favours increase when drugs are present.
He said there’s a greater need for segregation of some inmates and transfer requests increase.
Defence lawyer Glen Allen of Wetaskiwin argued for a community-based sentence of two years less a day.
Allen said Crough felt pressure to deliver the drugs after first refusing Tousigant’s plea.
Crough knew the inmate because she once lived with his brother and the inmate in Calgary.
Allen said Crough thought the inmate as a “little brother” who needed to pay off prison debts.
She wasn’t to gain anything for her effort, Allen said.
Bowden is a minimum and medium security prison housing about 650 inmates.
jwilson@www.reddeeradvocate.com