Inmate sentenced to five more years for drug charges

    A serving Drumheller Institution inmate was sentenced to five more years after corrections staff discovered a stash of drugs with an institutional value of $27,000.     Michael Butcher appeared in provincial court in Drumheller on Wednesday, May 4. He was charged with three counts of possession of drugs for the purposes of trafficking. He pleaded guilty to a single count of possession for the purposes of trafficking.
    The court heard how on January 6, 2010, he was serving as an inmate and was in a visiting area with another party. The visitor exhibited unusual behaviour and was observed placing an unknown package in a game box.
    Staff intervened and observed Butcher place an item in the back of his pants. Staff intercepted the item in his pants, and the package in the box. They discovered 100 red 200-gram morphine pills, 40 ecstasy tablets and 26.4 grams of powdered cocaine. The value of the drugs if sold in an institutional setting is $27,000.
    Butcher is currently serving a 10-year sentence for charges that include robbery. Judge Grieve accepted a submission from the federal prosecutor and the defence for a five-year sentence consecutive to the sentence he is currently serving. He also ordered a DNA sample, a firearms prohibition and forfeiture of the seized items.