Notorious West Kelowna fentanyl dealer back in prison

A notorious West Kelowna fentanyl dealer is back behind bars after slipping into some bad habits and being deemed “unmanageable in the community.”

Leslie John McCulloch, 43, had gained day parole in September 2021 a couple of years into an eight-year prison sentence for charges including trafficking, production of a substance and possession.

Among the conditions of his release, the Parole Board of Canada ordered that he not deal with anyone he believed was involved in criminal activity; not take, buy or possess any drugs that weren’t prescribed; continue with treatment for substance abuse; not possess multiple cellphones; and be transparent about his financial situation.

That day parole was revoked Feb. 10 in part due to information received on Nov. 16, 2021, that indicated McCulloch had “returned to behaviors consistent with (his) crime cycle” and was “dishonest and lacked transparency while under supervision,” according to parole documents released this month.

At that time, the board issued suspension warrants and McCulloch was returned to custody.

The parole board explained that staff members at his halfway house packed up McCulloch’s belongings at that point and found pieces of ID from another province, cellphones, bank cards, credit cards, a debit card, pre-paid credit cards, a parking ticket from a day he had signed out of the halfway house to go for a walk, a car key and a cryptocurrency wallet/USB.

When presented with what was found, McCulloch told them the IDs were from a few years earlier when he applied for a legal name change. He also said he kept these items among his possessions while incarcerated.

“(He) said one of the cell phones in (his) room did not have a SIM card and the other was under (his) mother’s name. (He) did not have an explanation for having more than one phone.”

Other rationalizations included that he kept a truck and trailer at a friend’s property, but he did not know the last name of this individual.

He said he had five email addresses because he could not remember passwords and that he had indirect contact with his previous intimate partner, who he viewed negatively.

The excuses did not add up, and the parole board said when it came to the ID in particular, Correctional Services Canada indicated he did not have them upon discharge from the institution.

In an attempt to turn around the situation, the board received several letters from McCulloch, ranging from three to 32 pages.

His lawyer added a 12-page letter, nothing that he was well behaved while in prison, is enjoyable and has good family support.

Ultimately, however, the parole board found him to be evasive and dishonest with all members of his supervision team, but particularly his parole officer.

“It is extremely difficult for (his) parole officer to monitor and manage (his) risk in the community when (he is) dishonest,” the parole board said.

There was a hearing the day McCulloch’s day parole was revoked and the board said he minimized the seriousness of his actions.

That, according to the parole document, demonstrated a lack of insight into his criminality and also showed entrenched anti-social and criminal thinking and decision-making.

“The Board finds that (McCulloch’s) behaviour was consistent with (his) established crime cycle” and that he became “unmanageable in the community.” His previous release was for six months but it’s unclear when he will be back up for parole.

Court documents once described him as a “middleman for the Hells Angels.” He was on parole for a previous possession for a trafficking charge when the incident he’s currently serving time for occurred.

That was in 2016, when RCMP saw him again with known drug dealers and gang members, according to the parole board, and in turn conducted a raid on his auto restoration shop, Kandy and Krome Kustoms.

The raid yielded cocaine, fentanyl, oxycodone, paraphernalia related to dealing those drugs, and $35,000 in cash.

According to the Parole Board of Canada, McCulloch had an out-of-control drug addiction and a related debt of $30,000 that he was unable to keep up with.

He made a deal with some drug producers and allowed them to use his shop in exchange for an ongoing supply of drugs for his own consumption and regular payments towards his drug debt.

He also enjoyed the financial benefits from the drug-dealing operation until that 2016 raid.

McCulloch pleaded guilty to possession for the purpose of trafficking and production of a controlled substance in February of 2017 and later tried unsuccessfully to take back that plea. He started serving a sentence of eight years, one month and 28 days for drug production, possession and trafficking in July of 2019.