Shane Erdman's lack of a criminal record spared him penitentiary time for operating "a virtual narcotic convenience store" in his west-end home.
In August, he was convicted of numerous drug and weapon offences stemming from a July 15, 2020 police raid on his Wallace Terrace home.
On Monday, Superior Court Justice Michael Varpio sentenced him to two years less a day – the equivalent of the time he spent in pre-trial custody following his arrest.
At the very least, you were found guilty of letting your home be used as "a drug emporium," the judge told the 34-year-old man when he imposed the time-served sentence recommended by the Crown and defence.
Nearly every room in the small two-storey home, except a child's bedroom and a bathroom, contained some evidence of drug trafficking, including weapons and ammunition, he said.
Sault Ste. Marie is suffering, "buckling under the weight of an opioid crisis," Varpio told Erdman.
The sentence needs to send a message to the community, that when you bring this level of drugs into our society you are going to be punished, he said, citing the need for deterrence and denunciation.
Noting Erdman had received a discharge in the past so "basically has no criminal record," a two-year-less-a-day sentence, the most that can be imposed in a provincial facility, conveys that message, the judge said.
"If you come back (to court) for anything else you will be facing a Kingston penitentiary type sentence," Varpio warned him.
In addition to the sentence imposed for the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act offences, he received 12 months concurrent for the weapons offences.
As well, he is prohibited from possessing weapons for 10 years and must provide a DNA sample for the national registry.
Varpio found him guilty of nine offences on Aug. 27 following a three-day trial.
Erdman was convicted of four offences involving a .303 Lee-Enfield rifle, a further weapons offence involving bear mace and a count of possession of property obtained by crime (Canadian currency).
The remaining three convictions were for possession of cocaine, oxycodone and methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking.
On Monday, Varpio granted a defence application to reopen the case regarding two of the convictions involving the rifle – unauthorized possession of a firearm and having an unlicensed weapon.
Paperwork tendered by the Crown wasn't sufficient to make out the offences, the defence maintained, and there was no evidence to support findings of guilt.
The judge agreed and entered findings of not guilty for those two offences on the indictment.