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Senior jailed for drug trafficking operation

May 25, 2018 | 4:37 PM

A senior citizen has been sentenced to federal jail time for selling drugs out of her Prince Albert home.

Rosemarie Zoerb was sentenced Friday at Prince Albert Court of Queen’s Bench to 34 months, or just under three years, in jail on charges relating to the possession and trafficking of various drugs. Zoerb, 61, had previously pleaded guilty to charges stemming from two separate incidents, including charges for possession for the purposes of trafficking of drugs such as hydromorphone, buprenorphine, methylphenidate and marijuana, and possession of the proceeds from crime. 

Zoerb, who had been released on bail while her charges were before the court, was taken into custody Friday following the sentencing. Court heard she operated a large-scale drug distribution business from her home in a residential neighbourhood of Prince Albert. 

Zoerb was arrested in September 2015 after police received tips from informants that she was selling drugs out of her home. Federal Crown Prosecutor Trent Forsyth said police conducting surveillance at the home noted numerous people coming and going from the house, which is consistent with drug activity. During a search of the home, police saw a sign on the side door to the house asking that no one knock before 9 a.m., or after 11 p.m. A safe was also found inside the home, bolted to the living room table, containing numerous pre-packaged baggies of various pills and cash.

Court heard Friday that Zoerb had prescriptions for some of the drugs found in the home, including hydromorphone, which she had been prescribed for the last 15 years due to severe pain from three hip replacement surgeries. Baggies including ritalin and gabapentin – for which Zoerb also had a prescription — were seized, along with a cell phone, score sheets and bear spray.

The value of the drugs found by police during the search in September 2015 was between $2,687 and $3,526, Forsyth said.

“There were substances found just about everywhere in this house,” he added.

Zoerb was released on the charges but was picked up again in July 2017 after police again received a tip about drug trafficking in the home. The informant told police that Zoerb was trading drugs for stolen property as well. Another police search of the home turned up more drugs, a scale, packaging material and marijuana. The value of the drugs seized in the second search was between $5,916 and $7,160, with the marijuana valued between $750 and $1,250.

Forsyth asked for a total jail sentence of four years for Zoerb, saying that selling drugs in a residential area jeopardized the safety of the entire community.

“What Ms. Zoerb had both in 2015 and 2017 was a drug store for street addicts,” Forsyth said. “The business that she was doing was brisk.”

Zoerb’s defence lawyer, Greg Chovin said Friday that his client has had a difficult life, suffers severe pain from her hip surgeries, and struggles with chronic conditions including diabetes, COPD, sleep apnea and thyroid issues. She has limited mobility and uses a wheelchair.

Chovin said Zoerb comes from a family with a history of alcohol abuse and became depressed following the death of her son and two of her siblings. Chovin said Zoerb has been unable to work for several years due to her health issues, and got into trouble with drugs after taking in a renter to help pay the bills, who introduced her to a different lifestyle.

Chovin said Zoerb has now moved to Saskatoon to live with an uncle, and has been mentoring a 17-year-old girl whose mother has been dealing with alcoholism. Chovin suggested a sentence of 30 months in the case.

“Ms. Zoerb is a very unique individual to come before the court in these circumstances,” Chovin said.

Queen’s Bench Justice Brian Scherman took Zoerb’s health into account during sentencing, and said her guilty pleas and lack of criminal record were mitigating factors in the case.

“I don’t see you as being the typical drug dealer,” he said in court Friday. “It seems you have come to the realization of the harm your drug dealing did to the community you were in.”

 

Charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt