David Edwardsen, the Terrace man convicted on 14 drugs and firearms charges last October, has been sentenced to eight years in jail, minus the 389 days already served.
Edwardsen appeared for sentencing in Terrace B.C. Supreme Court Feb. 13.
The sentencing marks the end of a lengthy court process resulting from a 14-month investigation into a Terrace-area organized crime unit dating back to 2011.
READ MORE: Local man found guilty on 14 of 17 drug and firearms charges
On Sept. 19 of that year police executed search warrants on five properties in Terrace and the surrounding area, including Edwardsen’s residence at 604 Old Lakelse Lake Road.
An Emergency Response Team assisted officers and seized more than 500 marijuana plants from three different grow-ops; 1.5 kg of cocaine; 24 tablets of ecstasy; 17 grams of hashish, 32 grams of magic mushrooms and prescription drugs.
Investigators also recovered several handguns and 110 long guns, including both rifles and shotguns, from two of the search sites.
READ MORE: Accused gains access to informants’ notes
In October last year, Edwardsen was found guilty on 14 of the 17 resulting charges.
His defence went through two unsuccessful bail hearings before finally securing his release on $100,000 bail in May 2013.
Edwardsen was scheduled for a preliminary inquiry in Terrace Provincial Court in April 2014, to determine if there was enough evidence for trial, but on agreement with the prosecutor he was granted a consent to committal, meaning Edwardsen was willing to go straight to trial. Throughout 2015 and 2016, five defence attorneys either resigned or were fired, filing between them six court applications that effectively extended the court process until October, 2017.
READ MORE: Alleged drug dealer appears in court late
Twelve of the 14 sentences delivered Feb. 13 will run concurrently, the longest of which is 1,071 days for possession for the purpose of trafficking. The two remaining sentences will run consecutively, two years again for possession for the purpose of trafficking, and four years for a restricted or prohibited firearms offence.
Edwardsen was given a mandatory 10-year prohibition on firearms, ordered to give a secondary DNA sample and forfeit all firearms seized by police except those proven to be owned by a named relative.
-with files from Margaret Speirs
quinn@terracestandard.com
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