A judge described him as coming from an affluent family, but a man busted with a large amount of cocaine in Burnaby back in 2009 will have to get used to prison life for the next three years.
A B.C. Supreme Court judge has sentenced Robert Charles Arthur to three years in prison for trafficking 10 kilograms of cocaine, following a bust on May 4, 2009. He was convicted of possession for the purpose of trafficking related to the incident on Sept. 22, 2015 and sentenced Jan. 18. He was acquitted of possessing proceeds of crime from an alleged incident in April 2009.
According to court documents, police set up surveillance on a home in Burnaby where Arthur was seen leaving the building and getting into a Jeep. He was carrying a box that said “Live Tropical Fish” on the side.
He was stopped by police and the vehicle was searched. The box in the back of the vehicle contained 10 kilograms of cocaine. The entire interaction at the home was caught on video and used at trial.
The trial heard from an expert that each kilogram of cocaine could be worth $30,000 to $50,000.
While Justice Miriam Maisonville noted in her decision that there was no evidence Arthur was a “trusted lieutenant” with a specific drug trafficking organization, she found he was assigned to pick up the cocaine and had spent some time at the residence.
The sentencing decision also included background on Arthur. He was 29 at the time of the arrest and is the son of a respected businessman. Arthur did well in school and received a scholarship for golf to the U.S., but a back injury forced him to give up the game.
When he returned home, court heard he became involved with individuals that got him into trouble with the law. But since the charge, court also heard Arthur has changed his life, having two children and starting up his own asphalt company that now employs up to eight people in the summer.
Though he had numerous letters of support from family, the judge said: “This drug, however, is dangerous for the community. It has wreaked havoc in the lives of many individuals.”
Crown was asking for a five- to six-year prison sentence, while the defence was seeking a conditional sentence. In her decision, Maisonville noted Arthur had no prior criminal record and accepted that he had expressed genuine remorse and changed his life.
“Nonetheless, the amount of cocaine in Mr. Arthur’s possession and the corresponding street value is an aggravating circumstance,” she wrote. “There was no evidence that Mr. Arthur was addicted to drugs. Instead, it appears that he was motivated by profit.”
Arthur was also handed a 10-year weapons ban.
