Texting the wrong number has landed a Langley woman two years in jail.
The text, related to selling meth, was received by a Quesnel RCMP constable, not the buyer she expected.
"The offence was serious and involved a text message agreement to traffic a kilo of methamphetamine for $18,500, and to deliver the kilo from the Lower Mainland to Quesnel," said Justice Christopher Greenwood in sentencing the woman in late September.
Helen Marie Mercieca pleaded guilty in early June. The Crown had sought a two-year term while the defence argued that the 57-year-old was turning her life around and didn't deserve to go to jail. Defence suggested six months of house arrest with exceptions, a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., a no‑contact order, community work service, and counselling as directed.
In early February of 2021, Const. Hundial, of the Quesnel RCMP, received unsolicited text messages on his RCMP‑issued phone from “Helen”, believed to be Helen Mercieca, asking for an individual by the name of Les who would purchase large amounts of illicit drugs.
The RCMP launched an undercover operation and began exchanging text messages with Mercieca. She went, in a red GMC Sierra, to a McDonald's parking lot in Quesnel for the drug sale, where she and a man were arrested. A search of the vehicle found one kilogram of methamphetamine in a vacuum-sealed container.
At one point in the undercover operation, there was a miscommunication about the quantity being offered. The police texted "How much you want 4K," which was meant to mean for a single kilo. According to the judge, Mercieca misunderstood and began to discuss four kilos and one of her messages said that for four the per-kilo price would be cheaper.
The judge reviewed details of her life brought up on court, including an addiction to crack more than 20 years ago, the seizure by government of a daughter, the death of her son who was hit by a train, long-time financial struggles, and her precarious housing. She was born in Ontario and moved to B.C. in 1980.
"There are times in her background where Ms. Mercieca has unfortunately been without a home," Greenwood noted. "I am also advised that Ms. Mercieca suffers from agoraphobia, which has manifested in anxiety on her part any time that she has to leave her home, although, I am advised that her agoraphobia has much improved as of late."
The judge noted that trying to obtain money to help her son find housing was the motivation for her crime and that she sold drugs around 2005 to obtain money but she has largely abstained from illegal substances for at least a few years.
"She spends her time now, among other things, caring for her granddaughter," Greenwood noted.
But the judge doubted whether she would adhere to court conditions after defying lawful orders in the past.
"The PSR [pre-sentencing report] makes reference to 11 prior reports of various kinds of non‑compliance without specifying what those are," the judge said.
As well, Greenwood took into consideration where the offence took place when explaining why a conditional sentence was not sufficient.
A conditional sentence "in these circumstances, would not adequately address the need for a deterrent sentence, in light of the many aggravating factors and the kilo‑level trafficking. It is particularly aggravating that this offence involved trafficking a large quantity of methamphetamine to Quesnel, a smaller community where the effects of a kilo of methamphetamine would have been felt acutely," he said in his ruling.
In addition to the prison sentence, the judge imposed a ban on weapons (firearm, cross-bow, restricted weapon, firearm part, ammunition, and explosive substance) for 10 years after release and a lifetime ban on prohibited weapons and ammunition.
