Crown to seek dangerous or long-term offender ruling
Despite being in jail, Derrick Anthony Adams, 41, walked away from court proceedings earlier this month after hearing he was found guilty of fentanyl trafficking, manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death.
“I’m sorry, I’m not sure if I heard that: I was found guilty on those?” Adams questioned Justice Aubrey Hilliard
“Guilty on all counts,” confirmed the judge.
Then assistant Crown attorney Gracie Romano told Hilliard she planned to file an application to have Adams declared a dangerous or long-term offender and dates were discussed about returning to court with enough time to deal with both the man’s current sentencing and the application.
A jail guard interrupted to say that Adams was gone.
“Mr. Adams has absented himself,” noted Hilliard.
“He is unpleased with my judgment.”
Adams was charged in the August 2021 death of 17-year-old Rachel Cook, of Simcoe, who died after taking drugs provided by Adams.
He was initially charged with drug trafficking in the case but, in February 2022, additional charges of manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death were added.
Cook was found unconscious after taking fentanyl. Her cell phone showed she was communicating with Adams, who provided the drug, and he had given her Naloxone, in case of an overdose.
Cook was resuscitated by doctors but, after no brain activity resumed, she was taken off life support.
Norfolk’s Scarlet Lee Helmer was also charged with trafficking fentanyl and associated with Cook’s death.
In June, Helmer pleaded guilty to possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking and two counts of failing to comply with release orders. She was sentenced by Justice Gethin Edward to the usual enhanced time served amounting to about seven months.
After the Adams hearing, Hilliard released her reasons to the lawyers, noting the evidence against Adams was “entirely circumstantial” but were the “only reasonable inference” based on all the evidence.
“Derrick provided fentanyl to Rachel for her to consume and that caused Rachel’s death,” summarized Hilliard.
Cook had been working at Tim Hortons and living with friends in Simcoe who were trying to assist her to get off drugs.
On the day of her death, she met up with Adams and the pair visited Cook’s mom.
Messages from cell phones belonging to Cook and Adams showed they seemed to be discussing drugs and there was evidence from a friend who saw the two meet briefly
Cook texted Adams that she was ready to do “a toke” and he asked her to check in with him afterwards.
After delivering her verdict, the judge apologized to family and friends of the victim who had attended court in hopes of seeing the matter resolved.
“I appreciate this is a little anti-climatic but I expect you really wanted to know the outcome,” said Hilliard.
The judge said her ruling was just the first stage of the process and more time was to be arranged to hear the application asking the court to declare Adams a dangerous or long-term offender, which is a lengthy process.
Long-term offenders can be ordered to adhere to very strict monitoring for up to 10 years after being released from prison.
Dangerous offenders can be given indeterminate sentences where they rarely get parole.
Adams, who has lived as an adult in Norfolk, Brantford and Hamilton, has a two-decade history of crime and violence in this area.
In 2002, Adams was shoplifting around Brantford and caught repeatedly. He stole meat from grocery stores several times. At one point, he made a getaway by stealing an 11-year-old girl’s bike.
In 2003, addicted to drugs and dealing with Hepatitis C, Adams bit a man who was trying to stop him from stealing meat. During a sentencing hearing, his lawyer predicted Adams would continue to be involved in the criminal justice system until he decided to stop using drugs.
In 2003, at age 22, Adams, still in Brantford, pulled a knife on some grocery store employees after he was caught stuffing meat into his coat and trying to leave without paying.
In 2005, Adams stole vodka from a liquor store and tried to outrun police on a bicycle. When arrested and put in a cruiser, he smashed his head on a Plexiglass barrier, needing stitches to close the gash.
He was charged in 2006 after a teenager was punched in the face.
In 2009, he was arrested after a knife-point robbery attempt and was charged with robbery with a weapon.
In 2011, he was living in Hamilton and charged with 19 offenses after a high-speed chase in Turkey Point involving a stolen car that was rammed into two police cruisers. Adams was said to have jumped into Lake Erie to escape but officers were able to catch and charge him.
He and three officers were checked over at Norfolk General Hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
While serving a three-year sentence for assault with a weapon, theft, flight from police, impaired driving and dangerous driving, he breached parole orders in 2014 and was sought by the OPP Repeat Offender Parole Enforcement squad.
In 2018, while in Brantford, Adams, still on probation, used bear spray to assault three people.
In 2019, while living in Simcoe, Adams and two other men got into an argument outside the Norfolk General Hospital where one of the men was knifed. Jean Pierre Auclair was sentenced to almost 10 months in jail for his role in the attack and Adams pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to more than 20 months.
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