A 29-year-old Prince George man caught possessing cocaine, fentanyl and fentanyl-bromazolam for the purpose of trafficking in 2022 was sentenced to 18 months of house arrest and six months under a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.
BC Supreme Court Justice Scott Morishita’s Dec. 18 Kelowna judgment in the case of Tyler Alexander Paterson was published May 28.
Paterson was found guilty on the first day of trial, July 25, 2025.
Morishita sentenced Paterson to concurrent terms of home confinement on the three counts. He will also serve three years of probation.
His arrest came on Oct. 10, 2022, at an Esso station in Vernon after an RCMP officer was called about an alleged assault by a woman on an attendant. The officer pulled over Paterson’s vehicle, which contained a female passenger, after it exited the car wash. The officer spotted a plastic bag on the driver’s seat, arrested Paterson and searched the vehicle.
The officer found 27.07 grams of cocaine in 52 packages, 21.71 grams of fentanyl in 12 packages and 1.78 grams of fentanyl and bromazolam in six packages.
Morishita said Paterson’s 2020 conviction for possession for the purpose of trafficking was an aggravating factor, along with the fact he was involved in a dial-a-dope operation and that one of the drugs trafficked was fentanyl, “a particularly deadly drug that has had a devastating impact on the community.”
“In support of this finding, I note the manner in which the drugs were packaged (i.e., a number of small bags individually packed) and the other items seized in the vehicle, including the notebook containing records consistent with street-level drug trafficking, cash and the three mobile phones,” Morishita said.
On the mitigating side, Paterson grew up with physical and emotional abuse and was exposed to drugs and alcohol at an early age. He has been addicted for most of his adult life and suffers from several psychological and mental-health conditions. To his credit, he has sought rehabilitation, including attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings, receiving counselling and taking medication for anxiety and depression.
“Mr. Paterson has also been sober for about the last year and a half,” Morishita said.
The judge also said Paterson started working for Pulse Mechanical as a labourer, although he was laid off due to a temporary project delay.
“(Company owner) Mr. Nabseth provided a letter of support where he indicates that Mr. Paterson was a good worker and that their intention for him is to start as an apprentice plumber should he wish to pursue that option,” Morishita said.
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