A Tillsonburg drug dealer who was on both probation and government disability payments when he was arrested two years ago with $30,000 worth of cocaine and fentanyl is now clean and wants to get back on track.
When Thomas Hangyasi, 45, was arrested by Ontario Provincial Police in Norfolk County in November 2022, he was found with drugs, thousands of dollars in cash, digital scales and an illegal knife.
Police pulled over a vehicle in which Hangyasi was a front passenger and found others in the car also had drugs. But a bag in the car – which Hangyasi had been spotted with before he got into the vehicle – contained more than $30,000 worth of fentanyl and cocaine.
A knife with a concealed blade that opens with the push of a button on the handle was dropped near Hangyasi’s feet.
“The quantities of the substances were significant both in value and the damage they can cause,” said federal prosecutor attorney Jamie Pereira. “Unfortunately people aren’t getting the message (about fentanyl) and the cocaine is also aggravating.”
To help get that message across the Crown and defence lawyer Shawn Swarts agreed on a joint submission for Hangyasi to get a five-year global sentence with credit for 201 days already served in jail.
Hangyasi pleaded guilty to possession of both fentanyl and cocaine for trafficking, possession of stolen property, possession of an unauthorized weapon and breach of probation.
Swarts said Hangyasi started using drugs due to a dislocated hip, leading to cocaine and fentanyl and him becoming a dealer.
“He’s taken full responsibility and it’s his hope, as he’s clean now for some time, to continue treatment and move on to a productive life,” Swarts said. “He’s hoping this is the turning point for him.”
Justice Elizabeth Wilson, who was named a judge of the Ontario Court earlier this year and assigned to Simcoe, said she hoped Hangyasi was sincere in his comments.
“Regardless of what led you to a life of self-medicating with painkillers, it in no way excuses what you do to others and this community by selling fentanyl and cocaine,” the judge said. “Even the police who have to handle this stuff are put at risk.”
Still, Wilson noted, Hangyasi hasn’t been incarcerated for more than 60 days in the past so a five-year prison sentence is significant and should have a deterrent effect. “People engaged in trafficking fentanyl and cocaine are contributing to the erosion of communities.”
Fentanyl is a hyper-potent synthetic opioid that’s been implicated in overdose deaths across Southwestern Ontario. It’s 100 times more powerful than morphine and as little as two milligrams of it, the equivalent of four grains of salt, can kill a first-time user.
After his sentence, Wilson urged Hangyasi to use his time in jail to consider the impact he’s had in Norfolk County and to plan to better himself once released.