Judge gives 2 men lengthy prison sentences in J-Tornado drug case

Two Saint John-area men arrested as part of the RCMP's Operation J-Tornado in 2014 have both been handed lengthy prison sentencesfor their role in a criminal organization and cocaine-trafficking ring.

Shane Williams, 34, of Smithtown, was sentenced to nine years and 11 months, whileJoshua Kindred, 40, of Saint John, received six years.

Williamsfaces an additional 15 months in jail if he doesn't repay nearly$44,000 police supplied an agent with to buy drugs from him during the investigation. Williams has six months to pay.

As the head of the criminal organization, Williams deserved to get a serious sentence, Court of Queen's Bench Justice William Grant said on Friday.

Kindredwas not as culpable because he was not a member of the criminal organization; he operated in association with it, Grant said.

Little reaction

The two men, who were bothconvicted in September, showed little reaction to their sentences,which work out to approximately six-and-a-half years and two-and-a-half years respectively with time already served in custody taken into account.

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

Williams' defence lawyer Brian Munrodid not offer any comment on the sentence outside the courthouse, but said his conviction is under appeal.

Kindred's lawyer Reid Chedoresaid his client is "reflecting" on his sentence and will make a decision on whether to appeal "in the days and weeks to come."

Both Williams and Kindredface additional chargesrelated toJ-Tornado, which arescheduled for trial in the new year. Williams faces organized crime and improper storage of firearms charges, while Kindred faces drug-related offences.

The two meneach have two children, whom they support, the court heard.

Before imposing sentence, Grant asked the men if they had anything to say.

"Iwant to be accountable for my actions. I've made some poor choices," said Kindred.

Williams, who appeared relaxed before court started, smiling at supporters in the public gallery and chatting with a sheriff's deputy,declined the opportunity. "No sir," he told the judge.

Grantnoted Williams had no "related" criminal record, while Kindred had no prior criminal record.

Motive was profit

Neither of the men has a substance abuse problem, said Grant. Their sole motivation for drug dealing was profit, he said, noting Williams had $7,000 in cash when he was arrested.

Williams had 16 letters of support, mostly from family members, whileKindred had six.

The Crown had been seekinga 13-yearsentence for Williams andeight-and-a-halfyears for Kindred.

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

But their defence lawyers have urged Granttoconsider much lighter sentences, noting no one else previously convictedin connection with J-Tornado has been sentenced to more than eight years.

65-day trial

Kindred was found guilty of 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, as well as instructing others for the benefit of a criminal organization, and possession of the proceeds of crime of more than $5,000.

During the 65-day trial, the court heard the RCMP used a paid agent to distribute BlackBerry smartphones to drug suspects and lead them to believe the phones were immune to police surveillance.

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

The police agent, whose name is protected by a publication ban, is a former Saint John businessman and friend of Williams.

Twenty-eight people were arrested in Operation J-Tornado. At least 13 of them have been convicted and sentenced.