‘You look unhealthy’: Judge Larry Allen

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This article was published 10/07/2023 (1004 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 29-year-old Ste Anne man was sentenced to one day in jail for possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking in a trial on June 29.

On March 1, 2023, Ste Anne police were contacted by a CFS worker saying a concerned neighbour believed Kenneth Lalonde and co-accused Tessa Jones were selling drugs from the home where they and their child lived.

The call led to an unannounced home visit by police and a CFS worker on March 29 said Crown attorney Dan Manning through the phone in court.

The constable noticed a prescription pill bottle that on closer inspection contained methamphetamine. Lalonde and Jones were arrested.

Police obtained a search warrant and ultimately found four grams of methamphetamine and a further four grams of cocaine inside the home along with other paraphernalia such as pipes. They found items suggesting Lalonde was trafficking drugs including scales, baggies and a score sheet described by the Crown as holding a “treasure trove of details”.

The Crown recommended a one-day jail sentence, which Judge Larry Allen agreed to.

“What’s happening today is that you are getting a gentle kiss from the system,” Judge Allen said.

He believed the police overstepped their bounds by searching the home in the way they did. He also warned of the dangers of using meth and cocaine, listing negative health effects such as tooth decay, weight loss, heart complications, permanent brain damage and abnormal dopamine production that could lead to psychotic illness.

“Unfortunately for you, you’re going to get the full lecture today, because you look unhealthy,” Judge Allen said. “You look like you’ve been mistreating your body.”

Defence lawyer Myles Davis told court Lalonde struggled with unemployment during the COVID-19 pandemic which led to experiments with drugs that he now regrets. Lalonde has one previous conviction for impaired driving from 2015.

Lalonde has started his own computer repair company and says he has stopped using drugs as he is trying to get his child back from CFS care.

“Stay clean and get off this,” said Judge Allen. “Get on with being the best that you can be.”