Correctional inmate sentenced to 75 days for drug possession

By Delon Shurtz on September 20, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A Lethbridge man who tried to smuggle drugs into the jail earlier this year has received a 75-day jail sentence.

Clayton Wayne Jordan, 39, was sentenced last week in Lethbridge provincial court, where he pleaded guilty to one count of drug possession.

Jordan had been admitted to the Lethbridge Correctional Centre on Jan. 4 of this year, and during a “strip search” he admitted he had drugs hidden in his underwear. Jail officials recovered 25.3 grams of fentanyl.

Jordan told officers, however, he never intended to distribute the drugs in jail, and he simply had the drugs on him to sell on the street, when he was arrested.

Federal Crown Prosecutor Mark Klassen said drug possession occurring in a custodial facility typically attracts sentences of 60 to 90 days, which is a little higher than if Jordan had been caught with the drugs on the street.

“We’re going essentially in the middle to give some mitigating benefit to his guilty plea,” Klassen said.

Jordan, who court was told struggles with addictions, was given full credit for time he has already spent in custody, which completes his sentence on the single possession charge. However, he still faces additional charges, including possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and aggravated assault, on which he returns to court Sept. 29.

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