Woman requests federal sentence to access drug programs

By Peggy Revell on November 24, 2017.

prevell@medicinehatnews.com @MHNprevell

A Medicine Hat woman pled guilty Thursday to trafficking methamphetamine, requesting no credit for time already in custody so she can serve her time in a federal penitentiary.

Appearing from the Calgary Remand Centre by closed-circuit TV, Racheal Penner entered a guilty plea and without wanting the assistance of counsel, and sentenced to two years jailtime as part of a joint submission.

Penner was one of 20 people arrested in September as part of the Medicine Hat police’s “Operation Suppression,” a month-long project focused on street-level drug trafficking.

According to the agreed statement of facts, police were conducting a separate investigation not related to drugs, that included texting a phone number. Police realized the number may also have been associated with trafficking, and made two arrangements to purchase meth from Penner. The first transaction was $100 for 1.15 grams of meth, while the second was 2.28 grams for $240.

The 28-year-old Penner requested no credit be given for time served, as it would put her below the sentencing length required serve in a federal penitentiary.

She said she’s looking forward to the programs available to her in the federal system as a way to get her life on track, compared to what is available in provincial jail.

“It just seems more beneficial,” she told the judge.

Sentencing delay

Sentencing for a Medicine Hat man who pled guilty to trafficking methamphetamine has been pushed back to Nov. 30.

Travis McNab, appearing by CCTV from the Medicine Hat Remand Centre, with his defence counsel requesting the adjournment, as she had previously lost contact with her client who had been on release. McNab is back in custody, so she said she can now get in contact with him to help proceed with sentencing.

Guilty pleas were entered March 3 to the trafficking charge, with a pre-sentencing report ordered, and McNab granted release until sentencing.

He was taken back into custody in November due to new charges, and was denied release at a bail hearing on Tuesday.

New charges from a Nov. 9 arrest, for possession for the purpose of trafficking, possessing property obtained by crime, possessing a controlled substance and two counts of breaching his release conditions. These are a set to be back in court on Dec. 5.

Doctor sexual assault charge

The case of a Medicine Hat doctor charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a person with a disability came briefly before a judge Thursday, with counsel granted an adjournment until Dec. 14.

Up until now, appearances had been handled by the Case Management Office at the courthouse, and not come before a judge — save for when a publication ban was put in place on any information that would identify the victim.

The charges against the doctor come from an alleged incident in June 2017 when an adult male patient attended a walk-in medical appointment and was sexually assaulted.

Police announced charges in mid-August against Dr. Ian Gebhardt, 55, who practised at the Crescent Heights Family Medical Clinic but has since withdrawn from practice. Don MacLeod, a Calgary-based lawyer has been hired as defence counsel.

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