Accused in fentanyl death sentenced in separate trafficking case
A man accused of manslaughter in a fentanyl overdose case, has been sentenced in a separate drug trafficking case.
Jordan Yarmey pleaded guilty to three counts of trafficking after he was charged for selling cocaine and fentanyl to an undercover officer in January 2016.
Justice Susan Bercov sentenced Yarmey to eight and a half months. With credit for time served, he will serve 76 days.
Yarmey will complete his sentence on weekends at the Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre.
Court documents show the undercover RCMP officer was connected to Yarmey through another individual who was under investigation. The officer and Yarmey met up three different times and documents show Yarmey sold the officer cocaine the first time and then fentanyl pills at two subsequent meetings.
That third and final meeting was when Yarmey was taken into custody by RCMP who laid three trafficking charges against him.
In court, the undercover officer said the third sale was made just hours after Yarmey was questioned by Edmonton Police following the discovery of Szymon Kalich's body in the hallway outside Yarmey's south Edmonton apartment.
While homicide detectives at the time determined Kalich's death to be an overdose, Yarmey was charged with manslaughter nine months later. It marked the first time Edmonton police laid manslaughter charges in connection to a fentanyl overdose death. That trial is still on-going.
Court documents show the Crown was seeking a sentence of four to four and a half years despite the defence arguing that Yarmey was a low-level street trafficker who was selling to feed his own addictions.
Justice Bercov said in her decision that Yarmey was not engaged in commercial trafficking and that he "has turned his life around."
In her decision, Bercov said Yarmey entered a treatment facility after his arrest and continued to seek regular addictions treatment and therapy sessions to address mental health issues that led to his addictions. She called it a "rare and unique" situation and said a lengthy prison sentence could threaten his rehabilitation.
With files from Janice Johnston
