Schoffer Gets Five Years For Drug Death

Trying to pawn off his responsibility has cost a man his life and for the offender a five year sentence.

In a Regina courtroom Moose Jaw resident Mitch Schoffer was sentenced to five years imprisonment for criminal negligence causing death.

The negligence surrounded having a fellow prisoner orally ingest high potency cocaine without informing him about the drug’s potency.

Court heard Schoffer had been arrested and in the custody of the Moose Jaw Police Service where the drugs were not detected.

The cocaine remained hidden because there was no strip search performed on Schoeffer when arrested and taken into custody.

Being transported to Regina in an RCMP vehicle on February 8th, 2021 Schoffer got rid of the 95 percent pure cocaine by giving it to 38 year old Thomas Kundert who had been arrested for assault in Bengough.

On the RCMP’s camera Schoffer is seen giving Kundert the bag of cocaine where he took a large amount orally.

The bag was returned to Schoffer by Kundert.

Kundert is described as an individual who did not use cocaine.

No attempt was made by Schoffer to warn Kundert about the cocaine’s purity.

Upon arrival at the Regina Correctional Centre a holding cell camera shows Schoffer again giving Kundert the bag of cocaine.

Kundert would ingest the remainder of the high potency cocaine.

Just before 3 pm Kundert went into distress and Schoffer began kicking the holding cell door to summon assistance.

Schoffer was asked what Kundert took Schoffer denied knowing anything about it.

Thinking it was fentanyl first responders used Narcanon to no effect. Narcanon works for opioid drugs - cocaine is not an opioid.

Acting police chief Rick Johns was asked by MJ Independent recently about the potential influx of high potency cocaine in the community.

In court Schoffer sporadically cried with his lawyer, Linh Pham, assigning some of the blame for the death on the Moose Jaw Police Service and RCMP for not conducting a proper search of Schoffer.

Schoffer - who has an extensive criminal record - will serve the sentence concurrently to time he is presently serving on drug related charges.

No extra time will be added to his jail time.

In an unrelated case the Moose Jaw Police Service has had one highly public breakdown when an inquest showed a prisoner was not properly searched and snuck a pistol into cells.