A woman caught smuggling drugs into the Drumheller Institution was given a conditional sentence order after pleading guilty.
Kimberly Robinson appeared in Provincial Court in Drumheller on Friday, January 13 for sentencing. She pleaded guilty to possession for the purpose of trafficking.
On December 18, 2010 Robinson attended to the Drumheller Institution to visit her stepson at about 10:30 a.m. She was searched by a drug dog, which alerted staff. Robinson admitted to having contraband, and was strip-searched by two female corrections officers. Their search revealed a package wrapped in Saran and a condom, containing 30.5 grams of marijuana on her person. The institutional value of the seizure was about $1,525.
Federal Prosecutor Colin Kloot argued for a six-month sentence. He said
a situation where drugs are being brought into a institution is always aggravating because of the effect introducing drugs has on the inmate, other inmates and staff, and the primary goal of sentencing in these cases is deterrence and denunciation. Robinson’s pre-sentence report was described as positive, and Kloot said there was not any need for rehabilitation.
Defense for Robinson, Dale Slaferek argued that the principles of sentencing could be satisfied by a community disposition. Mitigating factors included that she made an early guilt plea and that marijuana is, he described, a “soft” drug.
Judge Gaschler agreed that a conditional sentence was appropriate in this case.
Robinson was sentenced to a two-year conditional sentence order. For the first nine months, she will be subject to a curfew and she was ordered to complete 200 hours of community service.
