A 59-year-old Okanagan man arrested with baggies of fentanyl and cocaine and a pair of brass knuckles will spend the next two years in jail. 

Judge Gregory Koturbash was clear in his decision in Penticton Provincial Court on Thursday, Jan. 23, that despite Grant McEwen's efforts to stay sober and behave while on bail, his history of previous drug offences and the fact he was dealing in fentanyl needed denunciation. 

On June 27, 2022, McEwen was stopped while driving a motorcycle in Oliver by police. Officers searched his bike, and in the saddlebags found cocaine separated into dime bags that had an estimated street value of $856 and fentanyl also separated into baggies with an estimated value of $2,200.

Officers also found the brass knuckles, which McEwen was prohibited from owning under a lifetime weapons ban for previous offences. 

Defence for McEwen sought to have him serve out his sentence under house arrest, as well as perform community service. 

The court was told that McEwen, an Indigenous man who had grew up with an abusive father, had begun using alcohol, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin to cope at a young age and been in and out of court multiple times since. 

McEwen's criminal record stretches back to 1994, including seven convictions since 2002 for drug trafficking with the most recent in 2020. 

Judge Koturbash noted that the within five months of the end date for his sentence for that offence, he was caught again on June 27, 2022, for the same offence. 

Koturbash also pointed to the fact that despite McEwen's current willingness to go for treatment to deal with his addictions, he had been offered such an opportunity in the recent past and not taken it. 

The judge further noted that starting the path to recovery is not enough, but it must be committed and continually adhered to. 

"I recognize the depth of struggle and I do not underestimate its hold on Mr. McEwen," Koturbash said. "That said, it is equally important to emphasize that addiction and a difficult no matter how severe or difficult, does not exempt anyone from accountability. Society cannot and will not turn a blind eye to the consequences of actions that harm others."

Koturbash found that despite the mitigating factors in McEwen's case, the trafficking of fentanyl specifically and his history of recidivism warranted a full jail sentence. 

McEwen was sentenced to 729 days in jail.