A Canada-wide warrant has been issued for 56-year-old Nanaimo resident Kerry Wallace Chang, after he failed to appear in court for his most recent appearance. (Nanaimo RCMP)

By Ian Holmes

wanted man

Canada-wide warrant issued for Nanaimo man after no-showing at drug trafficking sentencing

Oct 11, 2024 | 3:19 PM

NANAIMO — Police hope the public can help locate a man wanted for missing his sentencing hearing after he was convicted of serious drug trafficking charges earlier this year.

A Canada-wide warrant is in effect for the arrest of Kerry Wallace Chang, 56, after he failed to show up for a Sept. 20 sentencing hearing in B.C. Supreme Court in Nanaimo before justice Robin Baird.

Chang is described by Nanaimo RCMP as white, standing 5’10”, 190 pounds with short receding grey hair and brown eyes. Chang has tattoos of dragons on both upper arms, police noted.

Anybody with information on Chang’s whereabouts is asked to contact Nanaimo RCMP at 1-250-754-2345.

Chang was found guilty on April 29 of possession for the purpose of trafficking fentanyl in relation to a notable 2020 drug bust at a south Nanaimo home.

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B.C. Supreme Court Justice Baird concluded Chang was responsible for 471 grams of fentanyl found on a living room table of a Twelfth St. Home when police used a search warrant to raid the property on Nov. 20, 2020.

Justice Baird refuted claims by Chang at trial that the large volume of fentanyl found on the home’s coffee table either belonged to a deceased addict or a female drug dealer.

“No drug dealer in his right mind would leave inventory of this value, or any value, unattended in a house full of fentanyl addicts,” justice Baird said.

At trial, Chang admitted to possessing more than 60 grams of fentanyl and smaller amounts of crystal meth and GHB (date rape drug) in his bedroom.

Less than two weeks before the late April verdict against Chang, he received a time-served jail sentence of a month behind bars after pleading guilty to a downgraded simple drug possession charge in connection to a July 2021 incident.

Kerry Wallace Chang outside court in Nanaimo earlier this year during sentencing for a drug possession charge. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

An April 18 judgment, also in B.C. Supreme Court in Nanaimo, heard Chang was pulled over by Nanaimo RCMP as he rode a motorcycle on July 6, 2021.

Chang, a prohibited driver at the time, had 24 grams of fentanyl, almost nine grams of methamphetamine and about $20,000 cash on him at the time.

Nanaimo RCMP had found evidence that Chang had acquired the cash legally through lottery winnings.

Chang’s criminal record dates back to the early 2000s with convictions for stolen property, theft, breaching sentencing orders and drug possession.

A drug trafficking charge previously laid against Chang was later dropped linked to an alleged dark web scheme resulting in a pair of police raids in Nanaimo in 2020.

Chang is the father of murdered Nanaimo teenager Makayla Chang, who was killed in 2017.

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Ian.holmes@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes