J-Tornado drug case sentencing of 2 men set for Dec. 9

Crown lawyer Melanie Ferron asked for stiff prison sentencesWednesdayfor two Saint John area men convicted in September of cocaine trafficking.

Shane Williams, 34, of Smithtown and Joshua Kindred, 40, of Saint John were among 28 arrested in 2014 as part of RCMP operation J-Tornado and Ferron said the two should get 13 and 8.5 years behind bars respectively more than any other suspects previously convicted in the case.

"Mr. Williams was the head of a criminal organization," said Ferron. "Mr. Williams and Mr. Kindred were equal partners."

• J-Tornado drug trial finds suspects guilty on all counts

Kindred was found guilty in September on five charges, including trafficking cocaine, possession of cocaine, conspiring to traffic drugs, conspiring to possess drugs for the purpose of trafficking, and benefiting from a criminal organization.

Williams was found guilty on the same five charges plus two more, including instructing others for the benefit of a criminal organization, and possession of the proceeds of crime of more than $5,000.

Williams and Kindred each operated their own Saint John bars, Williams on the east side of the city and Kindred on the west side and Ferron said neither needed to engage in criminal activity to make a living.

But Ferron said the two men chose to sit on top of a Saint John criminal organization dedicated to importing and distributing cocaine and of all the J-Tornado suspects arrested they deserved the harshest sentences.

"The only conclusion you can come to about why they were involved was greed."

Longest sentence 8 years

Of the 28 people arrested during J-Tornado at least 13 have been sentenced and convicted ahead of Williams and Kindred but no one has received a sentence longer than 8 years.

Defence lawyers Brian Munro for Williams and Reid Chedore for Kindred both argued for much lighter sentences and Williams's wife Tarah made an emotional plea for leniency

"This man before you is a good man," she told Justice William Grant.

She recounted how the two became high school sweethearts, went to prom together in 2001 and eventually got married and had two children.

She said Williams's arrest has been financially and emotionally devastating, especially for the children who she said have changed schools four times to escape taunts and ridicule.

"Children can be cruel and their parents can be worse," she said.

Williams hung his head and looked away for most of his wife's statement.

No prior convictions

Munro said Williams has no prior drug convictions and was no more involved in drug trafficking than earlier J-Tornado suspects who received sentences of six years.

Chadore said Kindred has paid a steep price already with the loss of his home and business and family relationships and several more years in prison would accomplish nothing.

"It has hit him hard. He has lost it all," said Chadore.

During the J-Tornado investigation police managed to put dozens of RCMP-supplied BlackBerry devices into the hands of New Brunswick drug suspects using a paid agent, a former Saint John businessman and friend of Williams whose name is protected by a publication ban.

The suspectswere led to believe the phoneswere encrypted and immune to police surveillance.

Instead,emailsfrom the phones were routed directly throughRCMPservers, with more than 30,000 messages intercepted andanalyzedby police.

The Crown established that cocaine activity in the group was largely directed by two phones, one connected to theemailaddressferrarigang@cryplock.netand one connected tohummertime@cryplock.net.

Grant found those phones belonged to Williams and Kindred

Crown prosecutors Nicole Poirier and Ferronpresented evidence in the judge alone trial over 65 non-consecutive days.

Grant said he would impose sentence onDec. 9.

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