Meth dealer’s house arrest request denied
Judge imposes sentence of more than 3½ years in prison for Lawrence (Larry) Steven Chippin, 62, of Fredericton, ruling community-based sentence would be inappropriate
A federal-prison term for a Fredericton man busted with a “not insignificant” quantity of crystal meth in his motel room in 2021 was necessary to denounce the seriousness of his crimes.
Judge Cameron Gunn sentenced Lawrence (Larry) Steven Chippin, 62, formerly of Dundonald Street, to 43 months in prison Thursday for numerous crimes.
The judge said the most serious of his offences was a count of possession of methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking, of which the court found him guilty after trial last year.
That crime occurred July 30, 2021, when police executed a search warrant at Room 221 of the Days Inn on Prospect Street, where Chippin was living at the time.
A stash of crystal meth was found in the room, court heard, as well as other items associated with drug trafficking, such as dime baggies, scoresheets and digital scales.
Furthermore, evidence showed online messaging threads in Chippin’s name detailed transactions and arrangements made to sell and deliver meth.
Chippin - who appeared in the courtroom prisoner’s dock Thursday, clad in jail-issued orange sweats - was also being sentenced for other offences, including May 19, 2021, counts of simple possession of cocaine and meth; possession of meth Oct. 4, 2023, and numerous breaches of release conditions.
Defence lawyer Joshua Adams had argued at a sentencing hearing earlier this month that his client ought to be granted a conditional sentence to be served in the community under house arrest.
He cited Chippin’s work with his synagogue and community activism through a Facebook page dedicated to finding missing persons in the area as reasons justifying a more lenient sentence.
Meanwhile, the Crown had sought a prison term of 44½ months.
Gunn acknowledged there were mitigating factors in Chippin’s favour, including his guilty pleas to many of the less serious offences and the most unfortunate elements in his background.
“Mr. Chippin is the child of Holocaust survivors,” the judge said, noting he’s also faced a number of financial and personal issues over the years.
“Mr. Chippin struggles with drugs, particularly methamphetamine.”
Offender kept committing crimes
But the court couldn’t turn a blind eye to the aggravating factors in the case, he said, noting the offender has two prior drug convictions and that he was found in possession of meth again after he was found guilty after trial.
“The behaviour persisted even after his conviction,” Gunn said.
The New Brunswick Court of Appeal has directed sentencing judges to denounce strongly offences involving the trafficking of hard drugs, he said, citing the devastating effect they have on the community - not only on addicts themselves, but those close to them and the population at large that falls victim to crimes committed to feed habits.
Precedents also direct judges that when passing sentence, they must be “mindful of current social circumstances,” he said.
Chippin’s drug operation was “not terribly sophisticated,” the judge said, but the offender was the one responsible for it, noting the court rejected Chippin’s testimony claiming another man was selling drugs out of his motel room.
“The quantity here is not insignificant,” Gunn said.
A conditional sentence is an option for the court’s consideration, he said.
“It is certainly available legislatively,” the judge said.
But for a conditional sentence to be granted, he said, the term of incarceration would have to be less than two years, and that wasn’t going to be the case.
But even if it were, Gunn said, he still wouldn’t have granted a community-based sentence, given the seriousness of the crime.
“I’m not satisfied it is appropriate in these circumstances,” the judge said.
No evidence Chippin is in danger
Chippin had reported he was concerned for his safety if he were to be incarcerated, given his anti-crime activism online.
But Gunn said there was no evidence before the court indicating there was a real risk, and even if there were, the correctional system can account for safety issues.
The judge imposed an overall sentence of 43 months in prison.
However, he acknowledged Chippin had served 43 days on remand, since his arrest in December for violating the conditions of his release.
Once the court applied the customary 1½-to-one remand-credit ratio, he said, that worked out to the equivalent of 74 days already served, and he reduced the prison term by that number of days.
The judge also imposed orders requiring Chipping to submit a DNA sample for inclusion in a criminal database, to refrain from possessing firearms and other weapons for 10 years following his sentence and to forfeit the drugs and other items seized at the time of his arrests.
At the outset of Thursday’s proceedings, Gunn noted there was an issue with one of the violations of conditions to which Chippin had pleaded guilty. He said there was some confusion about the release order alleged to have been reached May 20, 2022.
Crown prosecutor Rodney Jordan withdrew that count, given the suspected discrepancy.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.