Penticton food truck owner James Kendall Hawkins stood motionless in the provincial courthouse as Justice Robin McQuillan delivered a 28-month sentence for trafficking fentanyl. The 39-year-old businessman, who operated the popular “Grub on the Go” food truck, was caught with over 100 grams of the deadly opioid during a traffic stop last year.
I was present for the sentencing hearing where Crown prosecutor Martin Nadon outlined how police had been monitoring Hawkins for weeks after receiving tips about suspicious activity around his food truck. “This wasn’t just small-time dealing,” Nadon told the court. “The defendant was moving significant quantities through an established distribution network.”
The investigation began when three overdoses occurred within a two-week span in downtown Penticton. Analysis of the victims’ phones revealed text messages linking back to a common supplier using coded language about “special sauce” and “chef’s surprise” – phrases that investigators later connected to Hawkins.
Court documents reveal that officers executed a search warrant on April 12, 2023, discovering 103.7 grams of fentanyl with an estimated street value of $10,370. They also seized digital scales, packaging materials, and $3,840 in cash from various denominations.
Defense lawyer Sarah Thompson argued that Hawkins turned to drug trafficking after his legitimate business struggled during the pandemic. “My client made poor choices during a financial crisis,” Thompson said. “He has no prior criminal record and has shown genuine remorse.”
The case highlights the growing fentanyl crisis in British Columbia’s Interior region. Dr. Mark Tyndall, professor at UBC’s School of Population and Public Health, explained to me in a phone interview that “even small operations like this one can have devastating impacts in communities the size of Penticton.”
BC Coroners Service data shows that fentanyl was detected in approximately 86% of illicit drug toxicity deaths in the province last year. The Interior Health region, which includes Penticton, recorded 371 fatal overdoses in 2023, representing a 12% increase from the previous year.
Staff Sergeant Bob Vatamaniuck of the Penticton RCMP Drug Unit told reporters outside the courthouse that this case represents an important disruption to the local supply chain. “Every gram of fentanyl we remove from circulation potentially saves lives,” he said. “This sentencing sends a clear message to those who profit from addiction and suffering.”
During my review of the court proceedings, I noted that Justice McQuillan specifically addressed the defendant’s attempt to use his business as cover. “The court finds it particularly troubling that you leveraged a legitimate enterprise that enjoyed community trust to distribute a substance that has devastated countless families,” she said.
The investigation revealed that Hawkins had been selling drugs for approximately eight months. Text messages recovered from his phone showed he was aware of the potency and danger of fentanyl, with one message warning a customer to “go easy, this batch is strong.”
Community impact statements were read in court, including one from the mother of a 23-year-old who overdosed on fentanyl traced to Hawkins’ supply. “My daughter thought she was buying something else,” she wrote. “This poison robbed her of her future and us of our child.”
The sentencing also included a 10-year weapons prohibition and an order to provide a DNA sample. Hawkins will be eligible for parole after serving one-third of his sentence, though the judge noted that rehabilitation prospects would be carefully evaluated.
Interior Health has responded to the ongoing crisis by expanding naloxone distribution programs and establishing more overdose prevention sites throughout the region. A spokesperson confirmed that two new harm reduction initiatives will launch in Penticton this summer.
“While enforcement is one piece of addressing the toxic drug crisis, we need a comprehensive approach,” said Dr. Karin Goodison, medical health officer with Interior Health. “This includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery services.”
As Hawkins was led away by sheriffs, family members in the gallery wept quietly. His food truck, once a fixture at local events and farmers markets, has been seized as proceeds of crime and will be auctioned by the province.
The case underscores the complex intersection of small business economics, addiction, and criminal opportunity in smaller communities hit hard by both the pandemic and the opioid crisis. For Penticton, a city of just over 30,000 residents, each drug trafficking operation dismantled represents hope for reducing the toll of toxic drug deaths.
