FILE PHOTO.

(BEN BULMER / iNFOnews.ca)

A Vernon man who was caught dealing drugs while on bail for dealing drugs was sentenced today to six years in jail.

At the Vernon courthouse today, Feb 14, Kody Storm Perrault pleaded guilty to several charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Perrault had been out on bail on drug trafficking charges when he was kicked out of a Kamloops drug treatment centre for failing a drug test and made his way back to Vernon.

Police spotted Perrault staying at a motel in Vernon and set up surveillance.

In October 2022, RCMP officers saw the 29-year-old sitting in the passenger seat of a vehicle outside in the motel parking lot.

Several police cars then blocked the vehicle. Perrault then climbed over the driver, got out of the car, and started to run.

He was eventually arrested after "quite a chase," federal Crown prosecutor Susan Gill told the court.

The court heard how Perrault had climbed over a fence and lost his shirt in the process. He continued running shirtless, dropped his bag and ended up at a creek. He jumped in and headed down a culvert where he was finally cornered by police and arrested.

Police discovered large quantities of methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine in his bag.

Perrault had been on bail at the time for drug trafficking following his arrest in February 2021.

He was picked up in a vehicle in Vernon, again with large quantities of meth, fentanyl and cocaine on him.

Police estimate the value of the drugs seized in both busts to be between $7,500 to $12,000.

Perrault is no stranger to the criminal justice system and has around 30 convictions.

In 2020, he was sentenced to 20 months of jail time for fentanyl dealing and a break-and-enter.

"His (criminal) record is correlated to his drug abuse," defence lawyer Jordan Watt told the court.

Watt highlighted Perrault's "unfortunate and tragic upbringing" and said he'd grown up in an environment of abuse.

The court heard how Perrault's mother had died when he was 18 months old and he'd grown up in foster care, where he'd been physically and sexually abused.

At the age of 14 he ran away and eventually became addicted to heroin.

"Addiction is a vicious cycle for him," the defence lawyer said.

The defence lawyer said didn't excuse his behaviour but it did explain it.

The court heard how he now had a 16-month-old daughter, which was a motivating factor to get clean.

"I'm missing a lot of firsts in my daughter's life, I won't get those back," Perrault told the court. "I've made my fair share of mistakes... I try to accept responsibility for what I've done and get on with my life.

With time already spent in custody, Perrault has a little over five years of jail time still left to do.

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