Nanaimo man diverted safe prescription supply, dealt tainted drugs to addicts

Schilling and Penner were seen parked outside Newcastle Place before Nanaimo RCMP were called and the duo was arrested for drug trafficking (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

homes and businesses

Partial road closure in mind for planned Parksville mixed-use development

6m ago

LUCK OF THE DRAW

Canadian men to face Switzerland, Qatar and possibly Italy at 2026 World Cup

4h ago

give generously

Local school kids & families the focus of Nanaimo 'Cram the Cruiser' events

6h ago

The same license plate was noted by a security guard manning the Newcastle Place temporary supportive housing complex on Terminal Ave., prompting a response from Nanaimo RCMP.

A rental car company assisted police by providing the names of two clients: Schilling and co-accused Heather Lindsay Penner.

During a second police patrol an hour later Schilling and Penner had returned to Newcastle Place.

A Nanaimo RCMP officer pulled behind the truck where the driver Penner, wearing a blonde wig, was joined by Schilling.

The duo was informed they were being detained as part of a drug trafficking investigation.

Penner told the officer she just drives and this was “his operation.”

A search of Schilling and the truck uncovered about two ounces (nearly 60 grams) of fentanyl, while smaller amounts of cocaine, crystal meth and over 80 hydromorphone pills and drug paraphernalia were also seized.

Trace amounts of carfentanyl, about 100 times stronger than fentanyl, were also retrieved.

Nearly $1,000 cash in Schilling’s wallet and his cell phone were recovered.

Notably, business cards in the truck labeled ‘Upside Down Inc.’ were found in the truck, demonstrating degrees of sophistication and dedication to the trade, according to Rutherford.

“The phone number was called, and it rang to the phone located on Mr. Schilling. In the glove box was a box full of these business cards,” she told the sentencing hearing.

Safe supply users exploited
The Federal Crown’s Rutherford submitted a binder of about a dozen pictures detailing the drugs seized during the police investigation.

Rutherford pointed to multiple bottles found in a bag during the bust.

“Photograph three supports the Crown allegation that people were trading their safe supply drugs for hard drugs, these are ‘Outreach’ labeled prescription bottles. One name which is visible is not the name of Mr. Schilling or Ms. Penner, and the other name has obscured or concealed.”

Several incriminating text messages were found on Schilling’s phone, detailing more insight into his dial-a-dope scheme, including a client’s request to meet Schilling at Outreach Pharmacy, located at 55 Victoria Rd.

Schilling intercepted drugs from Outreach Pharmacy clients on Victoria Rd. to be redistributed to vulnerable users. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Another message indicated Schilling had three dealers at his disposal to flip his drugs.

The offender relied on the provincially regulated Overdose Prevention Site on Albert St. to confirm the contents and potency of his supply.

“The Crown submits this is clearly a mid-level dealing enterprise. There are indications Mr. Schilling was supplying dealers, not just users,” Rutherford stated.

One client was satisfied to hear testing results confirmed a 17-20 per cent potency rate of fentanyl, while another test of cocaine revealed 95 per cent purity.

Private messages via Facebook revealed a contact had several types of hard drugs on the way courtesy of the dark web.

Schilling shared his drug-cooking methods and supplied pictures to the Facebook user.

Rutherford reiterated “ample evidence” showed Schilling was specifically preying on safe supply clients, including residents at the Terminal Ave. supportive housing complex.

Circumstances of offender
Schilling does not profile as a prototypical drug trafficker headed for a federal penitentiary sentence.

Aside from a dated drug trafficking conviction from the 1990’s, Schilling has displayed a strong work history and pro-social community values.

The father of four and grandfather began a still-running Fraser Valley charity with his deceased partner, which supplied necessities like diapers and baby strollers to needy families.

Pre-sentence and psychiatric assessments demonstrated Schilling responded poorly to his partner dying unexpectedly about four years ago.

Schilling moved to Nanaimo approximately six months later, reporting his $50 weekly cocaine use routine spiraled to hundreds of dollars a day.

He reported to be in financial ruin, having lost all of his money and his home.

During a pre sentence assessment, Schilling mentioned he failed to see how going to jail would benefit anybody.

“It appears the seriousness of the offence hasn’t quite gotten through,” Rutherford told the court.

Despite considerable evidence demonstrating Schilling was fully aware he was dealing fentanyl, he denied having any knowledge of it during both his pre sentence and psychological assessments.

“He knew what he was doing, he knew it was fentanyl. He’s being honest with the court today,” defence attorney Stephen Littley confirmed.

Acknowledging his elevated cocaine addiction, Schilling denied being an opioid user, stating his extreme “distaste and distrust” for the substances.

Schilling has since cleaned up his act, taken advantage of counselling and vows to permanently turn his life around, Littley said.

The defence counsel stated Schilling is angry for not properly dealing with the immense grief of his partner’s death.

Provincial court judge Karen Whonnock accepted a jointly submitted sentence for Schilling, who won’t benefit from any pretrial credit.

She said the ongoing overdose epidemic is ravaging communities of all sizes and Schilling was fully aware of what he was doing.

“Mr. Schilling preyed upon people who were taking the safe supply drug. These drug users were extremely vulnerable to their drug addiction, struggling to overcome their drug addiction,” judge Whonnock said.

Schilling must comply with a DNA order and lifetime prohibited and restricted weapons and ammunition ban.

While his arrest a little over two years ago was a watershed moment in Schilling’s life, he thanked Nanaimo RCMP.

“They were courteous, professional and quite frankly if that didn’t happen, where would be be today? I look it as a painful, but positive incident.”

Schilling didn’t foresee his addiction elevated to the point where it consumed his life.

He appeared genuinely remorseful while rising to his feet and addressing the court.

“It’s something I’m not proud of. At this age not in my wildest dreams would I have pictured me here. But once this is done and over then I just want to enjoy a nice, peaceful life,” Schilling said just prior to being handcuffed and led off to jail.

Charges against co-accused Penner are expected to be officially dropped during a Tuesday, May 6 court appearance.

Community safety advocate speaks out

Collen Middleton, co-founding director of Nanaimo Area Public Safety Association (NAPSA), called Schilling’s conduct “appalling to say the least”, predatory and calculated.

“They had business cards called Upside Down Inc, down is a street name for fentanyl,” he said.

Middleton has long suspected Outreach Pharmacy safe supply medications were being diverted after seeing prescription labels strewn about on the sidewalk in front of his house located near the pharmacy.

He stated NAPSA is not opposed to safe supply to help save lives, but said more needs to be done to protect users and the integrity of the program.

“The diversion of it is theft, it is profiteering, it is dangerous and it is hooking young people into opioid addiction,” Middleton told NanaimoNewsNOW.

Collen Middleton addressing a community safety rally in downtown Nanaimo in August 2024. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Middleton said he was ostracized for raising concerns about evidence suggesting safe supply meds were being re-routed in Nanaimo, citing he’s been offered drugs for sale near the clinic.

“I guess it’s somewhat vindicating to see these cases now reach the court, but there’s damage done, this whole opioid crisis is impacting everybody in the province.”

The B.C. government launched its prescribed safe supply program in the summer of 2021, offering users a range of medications through prescriptions to reduce the risk of drug toxicity deaths.

In February, the province announced changes to the initiative, requiring all new program clients to consume their prescriptions under the physical watch of a health professional.

Premier David Eby last spring heavily walked back a drug decriminalization policy pilot project launched in January 2023.

Subscribe to our daily news wrap. Local news delivered to your email inbox every evening. Stay up to date on everything Nanaimo and Oceanside.

info@nanaimonewsnow.com

Follow us on: Twitter (X) | Bluesky | Facebook

by Ian Holmes

Nanaimo man diverted safe prescription supply, dealt tainted drugs to addicts

More Local News