A Canadian military officer has been acquitted of trafficking fentanyl and cocaine and received an absolute discharge after he was found guilty of simple possession of methamphetamine in Victoria. Capt. Charles Meyers, a 49-year-old veteran of the Canadian Army’s 5th Field Artillery Regiment, was arrested on Aug. 4, 2024, after an undercover Victoria police officer observed what she believed was a series of hand-to-hand drug transactions on Pandora Avenue. The officer testified at a court martial hearing that she saw Meyers arrive in a pickup truck and hand a white golf ball-sized object to another man. According to her testimony, a search of Meyers’ vehicle turned up a small bag of methamphetamine in the driver’s side door and additional suspected drugs inside a locked glove compartment. Meyers was arrested and released at the scene. He was later charged in a military court with three counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine. The evidence seized by the Victoria police was subsequently transferred to the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service for further investigation and analysis. At trial, the prosecution argued that the drugs, their packaging, the presence of a scale and the circumstances of Meyers alleged hand-to-hand interaction established possession for the purpose of trafficking. However, the defence challenged the reliability of the evidence, focusing extensively on failures in the chain of custody after the substances were seized. Military Judge Col. Steve Strickey heard that evidence packages sent to Health Canada for analysis were temporarily lost, and others were rejected because they had not been packaged according to the agency’s requirements. The defence argued the repeated gaps and discrepancies in the chain of custody created reasonable doubt about whether the substances analyzed were the same ones taken from the vehicle. The judge concluded that prosecutors failed to prove Meyers knew there were drugs inside the locked glove compartment of his truck or that he exercised control over them. Strickey found the prosecution’s case did not eliminate the reasonable alternative that someone else could have placed the drugs in the glove box. The judge therefore acquitted Meyers of all three charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking but ruled that a charge of simple possession of methamphetamine was warranted. The judge found that Meyers, who had been driving the truck when he was arrested, had the necessary knowledge and control over the methamphetamine in the driver’s side door even though it was not found directly on his person. In delivering his sentencing decision Friday, Strickey weighed the seriousness of the charge of methamphetamine possession, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, with the fact that Meyers has no criminal record and has served in the Canadian Armed Forces for more than 22 years. The prosecution had sought a severe reprimand and a $2,000 fine, arguing that Meyers’ rank as a commissioned officer warranted a meaningful punishment to reinforce discipline and deter similar conduct in the forces. The defence sought an absolute discharge, arguing that Meyers had already suffered significant consequences, including the loss of his military career following his release from the CAF in June. The judge sided with the defence and directed an absolute discharge on the remaining count of methamphetamine possession, meaning Meyers will not have a criminal record as a result.
