Drug trafficker had loaded handgun at Nanaimo OPS

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Coltan Sharp outside Nanaimo Law Courts during a break in his sentencing hearing on Thursday, Sept. 17. (Image Credit: Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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Sharp, holding a pill bottle containing fentanyl, was arrested as multiple officers converged.

The offender informed police he had a weapon in his pocket, a loaded 3D-printed handgun.

“There was a live .22 shell in the chamber,” Gibson told court, adding several .22-calibre cartridges compatible with the gun were seized.

A shoulder bag and backpack contained several containers of pre-packaged drugs, over 26 grams of fentanyl, six grams of methamphetamine, a half ounce of crack cocaine, hydromorphone pills and a knife.

In a statement to Nanaimo RCMP, Sharp said he began dealing drugs a month prior after being threatened by two men to do so.

Sharp claimed another man handed him the gun and bullets at the OPS just prior to his arrest, who requested Sharp hold onto the firearm until the next day.

The contention was not corroborated by on-site security footage, which showed Sharp conducting five hand-to-hand drug transactions, but not receiving the weapon.

A cell phone seized during the arrest showed evidence of Sharp’s drug trafficking activities.

The Crown’s Gibson spoke to the risk of Sharp possessing a concealed and loaded handgun and spring knife.

“The combination of drugs and weapons is particularly concerning given the area that Mr. Sharp was arrested in. The Crown submits it to be significantly aggravating that Mr. Sharp was selling to a very vulnerable population at the OPS.”

Samples of Sharp’s sale-ready, pre-packaged drugs included methofentanyl, which Gibson said is 35 times stronger than fentanyl, as well as a type of horse tranquilizer which deprives muscles of oxygen and can lead to digit and leg amputation.

The OPS drug bust represented an estimated street value of upwards of over $7,800 and 218 individual doses of fentanyl.

Operated by the Canadian Mental Health Association’s mid-Island branch, the Nanaimo OPS is described by the organization as a welcoming and culturally safe environment for safer drug consumption.

The seven-day-a-week service operates under a contract from Island Health by way of a special provincial ministerial order in response to the toxic drug crisis.

The City of Nanaimo has no regulatory authority over the OPS located adjacent to Nanaimo City Hall.

Sharp’s case is unrelated to a high-profile drug and weapons bust at the Nanaimo OPS two months prior.

On Sept. 12, 2024, Gerid James Gregory-Allen and Sarah Lynn Koshman were both arrested at the facility.

Gregory-Allen pleaded guilty to nine charges in relation to a pair of offence dates, while Koshman entered guilty pleas to a pair of drug trafficking charges.

A ten-year prison sentence has been agreed upon for Gregory Allen, who remains in custody.

He and Koshman still await formal resolutions from provincial court judges.

Circumstances of offender

Sharp’s defence attorney, Cheyne Hodson, portrayed what he described as “one of the most shocking” pre-sentence reports he’d ever reviewed.

The probation officer’s report outlined a childhood rife with multiple forms of abuse, neglect, exposure to substance abuse and violence.

With his father absent and mother struggling with her own issues, Sharp was an alcoholic starting at the age of eight, which expanded to hard drug use a few years later.

Hodson said Sharp was in a poor state prior to his November 2024 arrest.

“He was in full on addiction, he was consuming, he says, three-and-a-half grams of crack cocaine a day and up to a half once of methamphetamine a day. He describes this period of time as being in full psychosis.”

Hodson said after adjusting to the first few months behind bars at Nanaimo Correctional Centre, Sharp excelled.

He said his client graduated from the Guthrie Therapeutic Community program where he assumed a leadership role.

The offender completed his grade twelve at NCC, court was told.

Sharp was released early last October from NCC on strict house arrest conditions to attend New Roads Therapeutic Recovery Community in Victoria, where Hodson said Sharp continues flourishing with his recovery.

Hodson said several reports show the significant post-offence strides Sharp has made.

“I think (this) demonstrates that Mr. Sharp has turned his life around completely and is in a position where he can reside in our society without endangering the public or the community around him.”

Hodson requested a conditional sentence order, followed by the maximum three years’ probation.

Sharp has advanced to second stage of recovery at New Roads.

While addressing the court, Sharp rose to read out a prepared statement.

He spoke about the dangers his involvement as a drug dealer and being involved in weapons caused.

“I do not want to minimize the seriousness of what happened, or make excuses for my actions. I accept responsibility for the choices that I’ve made,” Sharp said.

He expanded on the programming he received at NCC, saying he learned at Brannen Lake simply being released is not enough and he needs to make different choices in life.

“I have seen how my involvement in drugs and the criminal lifestyle can take me further away from my family, my goals, my freedom and the person I want to become — it’s a cycle that can be extremely hard to break; I no longer want that life for me.”

Sharp will be formally sentenced at a yet-to-be-determined date, where a one-hour-long ruling is expected.

“I need to go away and think about this, because these are difficult decisions that require some time,” judge Christina Proteau said.

Sharp would receive 471 days of in-custody credit to any potential jail sentence.

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