Oft-convicted drug dealer doing ‘life on the instalment plan’

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This article was published 15/08/2019 (1714 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Just weeks after his April 2018 release from prison on drug charges, Percival Icban was already being watched by police, tipped off that he had “returned to his old ways.”

On June 8, 2018, police pulled Icban’s car over and found 17 ounces of methamphetamine hidden in a wheel well. A search of the basement of the James Carleton Drive home he shared with his aging parents uncovered more meth, as well as scales, packing material and other drug paraphernalia.

Icban, 48, pleaded guilty to possession for the purpose of trafficking and was sentenced Friday to just under 11 years in prison.

Drug dealing has kept Icban behind bars for most of his adult life. In 1998, Icban was convicted of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and sentenced to six years in prison. While still on statutory release, he was convicted of conspiracy to traffic drugs in 2003 and sentenced to another 42 months in prison. Released on parole, he was arrested again on drug charges and sentenced to eight years in 2005. Free once more, Icban was again convicted of possession for the purpose of trafficking in 2012 and sentenced to five years. Icban was released once again, only to return to custody after breaching his parole.

“I, quite frankly, haven’t seen a record like this in quite some time,” Crown attorney Kirsty Elgert told provincial court Judge Robert Heinrichs. “Mr. Icban has spent double digits in custody for this exact behaviour. He is essentially doing life on the instalment plan.”

Elgert described Icban as a mid-level dealer, entrenched in the criminal drug culture.

“This isn’t someone who just walks out of Stony and is handed 17 ounces of meth,” Elgert said. “This is someone who is entrenched in a lifestyle.”

Icban has been addicted to meth and cocaine for much of his adult life and turned to drug dealing to support his habit, said defence lawyer Jonathan Pinx.

A dozen family members and friends attended the sentencing hearing, many of whom provided support letters to the court describing Icban as a kind-hearted, family-oriented man.

Icban “is the kindest person I have ever met, a soft-spoken teddy bear who likes to be silly, even though he has been through so much,” his daughter-in-law wrote.

Several letters lamented the many birthdays, weddings and other family celebrations Icban has missed because he was in prison.

But missed family time never deterred Icban from reoffending, Elgert said.

“None of that has kept him from doing what he did, just a month after being released from Stony,” she said.

Heinrichs credited Icban 22 months for time served, reducing his remaining sentence to nine years.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca