Drug dealer gets house arrest for ex-girlfriend's fatal overdose
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Despite years of experience with illegal drugs, Joshua Biernacki didn’t believe he or his former girlfriend would ever be seriously harmed by them.
He told the author of a pre-sentence report that he and Deborah Beer “never thought about the serious consequences … (and) never thought that this could happen to us.”
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But tragically it did. Beer, 28, was found dead of a heroin overdose on Nov. 7, 2021, slumped in the closet of the bedroom she shared with her young daughter, a needle still in her arm.
The half-a-gram of heroin had been couriered to her by Biernacki at her request. The former boyfriend from Oshawa had maintained a relationship with Beer even after she became pregnant by someone else, got clean and moved into her mother’s apartment in London.
Biernacki, 33, was charged with manslaughter. He was the third suspected drug dealer to face the homicide charge laid by London police for selling drugs that directly led to a death. In the other cases, the charges were withdrawn or reduced. Biernacki, however, was the first in London to go before a jury.
At the end of the December trial, Biernacki was found not guilty of manslaughter, but guilty of the included offence of heroin trafficking.
What was clear from both his trial and sentencing hearing is that Biernacki has deep remorse over Beer’s death, struggles with a substance abuse disorder and has a limited criminal history.
In his sentencing decision released a week ago, Superior Court Justice Michael Carnegie described Biernacki as a “low-level drug trafficker” and imposed an 18-month conditional sentence, otherwise known as house arrest, along with two years of probation.
What swayed Carnegie to a conditional sentence disposition had much to do with the longtime relationship between Biernacki and Beer and how both of them were aware about the risks of taking the drug.
Beer, who had been staying sober and working at a Tim Hortons, reached out to Biernacki to buy heroin for herself and a co-worker. Biernacki wanted Beer to reconsider but ultimately agreed to sell her the drug for $130.
He sent messages to her about how to divide the drugs and how much was safe to use. Carnegie noted Beer’s response was she was not “dumb” and as a mother, she would be careful.
She also assured Biernacki that she was making the decision herself. “I don’t blame anyone for selling me drugs or nothing … I fully made the choice,” she wrote in a text message to him.
“Sadly, Ms. Beer went into this trafficking misadventure with her eyes wide open. She was and communicated her awareness of the inherent risks of using heroin, particularly after her hiatus of whatever duration from heavy use,” Carnegie said.
Biernacki couldn’t resist her request even though he knew of her long addiction history that began when she was 14. “He was not doing Ms. Beer any favours and it is no answer to infer, if he did not sell, she would have found heroin elsewhere,” Carnegie said.
“Ms. Beer’s death has devastated her family. Her loss is deeply felt. And, to whatever extent Mr. Biernacki contributed to this loss, he is genuinely remorseful. And he ought to be.”
Beer’s mother and sister described their grief in emotional victim impact statements. “Suffice it to say, the overall impact upon the victim’s family has been profound,” Carnegie said.
Biernacki, the judge added, appeared visibly affected in court and exhibited what he interpreted as “genuine regret.”
Carnegie pointed out Biernacki has been a drug addict, like Beer, since he was a teen. He became addicted to heroin when he was 19 and has been hooked on opioids, including fentanyl and crystal meth. He also has used cocaine.
He has tried to break free from his addiction through in-patient programs beginning in 2019 and remains under care. Beer’s death caused him to consider suicide.
Biernacki also “acknowledges many relapses over the years, including heroin overdoses. He significantly relapsed after hearing of Ms. Beer’s death. By all accounts, the victim’s passing has had a devastating impact upon him. He describes himself as ‘the criminal here’ and that he regrets what he did,” Carnegie said.
The Crown sought a two-year jail term while the defence argued for a 12- to 18-month conditional sentence along with three years probation.
Carnegie pointed out that had Biernacki not followed his restrictive bail regime, then he would have considered the maximum two years-less-a-day of house arrest. The sentence and probation term, he said, was primarily for “enhanced rehabilitative purposes.”
jsims@postmedia.com
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