Judge credits Nanaimo drug trafficker’s ‘remarkable’ transformation

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Cooper was arrested near the supportive housing complex operated by the mid Island branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association on Wesley St. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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Judge credits Nanaimo drug trafficker's 'remarkable' transformation

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It’s the kind of haul often leading to a federal penitentiary sentence of well over two years, particularly for repeat offenders like Cooper.

An extended decision from veteran B.C Supreme Court Justice Robin Baird for Cooper was made on Monday, Aug. 31 in Nanaimo, which also happened to be International Overdose Awareness Day.

Last fall, Cooper pleaded guilty to three drug trafficking charges, leading to sentencing arguments in June where Crown prosecutor Jenny Rutherford requested a three-year prison sentence, while Cooper’s lawyer, Sarah Runyon, lobbied for a non-custodial punishment.

The 40-year-old offender was handed two years of house arrest, followed by two years’ probation.

Justice Baird outlined Cooper’s unusually successful rise from a drug dealer on Nanaimo’s streets to an inspirational leader in Victoria’s recovery community after being released on bail early last year.

The judge outlined Cooper’s tragic entry into the world dependent on opioids due to his drug addicted mother, leading to a Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder diagnosis.

When Cooper was two years old, his father was sentenced to eight years in prison for armed robbery.

Cooper’s chaotic childhood included a brief stint in foster care before being taken in by his grandparents, whom Cooper described as reasonably stable, but highly functioning alcoholics.

“At age 15, at the suggestion of his grandfather, he moved to Burns Lake to live with his father, who had somehow created the impression to those close to him that he’d beaten his drug addiction and was living a clean and healthy lifestyle; this turned out to be far from the truth,” justice Baird noted.

Cooper was promptly introduced by his father to using and dealing illicit street drugs.

Cooper, a father of four, lived in Prince George for several years, where his addiction issues and criminal lifestyle deepened as a young adult.

His lengthy criminal record includes drugs and weapons offences, crimes of violence and breaching conditions.

The offender reported the need to support his family as a key factor behind his drug trafficking at the time of the Nanaimo bust.

“I should like to make it clear, immediately, that I view this as no excuse or justification for peddling fentanyl and other toxic substances on the streets of Nanaimo where such activity has become a matter of pressing concern, alarm and disgust for all of us,” justice Baird relayed during his decision, which lasted over an hour.

In late January 2025, Cooper was released on bail to reside at New Roads Therapeutic Community in Victoria to undergo residential treatment programming.

Cooper flourished there, court was told.

Brooke Pettinger, the facility’s community care coordinator, outlined for the court Cooper’s progression in treatment and in the community.

She wrote that Cooper is no longer simply participating in recovery, he’s contributing to it.

“His trajectory indicates a strong commitment to maintaining these changes and continuing to build a prosocial, responsible life within the community,” Pettinger stated.

This past March, Cooper transitioned to second-phase housing, Johnson Manor, a new 20-unit facility for men in Victoria, where he remains.

Cooper is a house leader at Johnson Manor, where court was told he continually aids several tenants during their addiction journeys.

Cooper is also employed as a highly regarded and skilled harm reduction and peer support worker and made presentations to University of Victoria students, court was told.

“Collateral reports and his own statements describes substantial personal growth, accountability and leadership through sustained recovery programs and peer support, all of which appear to have contributed to his emotional regulation and relapse prevention,” justice Baird outlined while detailing several glowing character reference letters.

During sentencing arguments in June, justice Baird hinted at the possibility of jailing Cooper.

Justice Baird referenced grim BC Coroners Service statistics, which showed 94 people in the Nanaimo area died from toxic drugs in 2024, representing the second-most on record in the Harbour City.

Despite Nanaimo’s overdose and drug culture presenting in the words of justice Baird as “a disastrous situation”, he saw no socially redeeming purpose in handing Cooper a federal sentence.

“I regard your recovery so far and rehabilitation as remarkable, in my experience, it is not common,” Baird said as he locked eyes with the offender.

Cooper’s four years of court oversight include numerous restrictive conditions, including staying away from illicit substances and counselling.

He is permitted to visit family in Richmond as part of a specially arranged carve-out in his one-year of house arrest now in effect.

“In the face of the grit, discipline and determination shown by this offender in fending off his addiction and a strong record of leadership with helping others to do the same, in my view it would be directly and profoundly counter-productive to commit him to a penitentiary sentence,” justice Baird concluded.

Outside court, Cooper told NanaimoNewsNOW that his conduct prior to his Nanaimo arrest reflected his miserable downward spiral.

“People like me can change, people that are in that state can change into something that can be beneficial to the community as a whole,” Cooper said.

He endured to change his life to create a more positive future for himself, his family and to give back to society.

“I wanted to make it up to the community as a whole for the harm that I’ve done to it, there’s no way that I can ever make up for it, but I can make my best effort in life now to show people that I have changed so I can now help people.”

Cooper intends to maintain a full-time career to support the recovery community and remain in the Victoria area.

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