A Langford man says he was one of the last people to see 12-year-old Ally Thomas alive and is now under investigation by West Shore RCMP.
The 33-year-old man, who would only provide his first name, Cale, says he drove the Grade 6 student and her two friends downtown to buy heroin on April 14. While he insists he didn’t know Thomas, or how young she was, he says it’s something he’s done with numerous young people before.
“Knowing that they can’t overcome physical situations, like meeting a man downtown and he’s physically able to overcome her strength, I worry about that,” he said. “I’m able to at least get you to where you need to go and keep an eye out for you.”
Cale claims that he brought the trio to the McDonalds parking lot on Pandora Avenue, then walked them across the street. However, he says he didn’t see who they bought the drugs from.
He says they went back to his vehicle where his passengers smoked the heroin while he drove them back to a home in Langford. That was the last he heard from Thomas and it wasn’t until several days later that he found out she had died from an overdose.
While Cale doesn’t do heroin or fentanyl, he says he does use other substances and also struggles with mental health issues.
“We definitely aren’t getting the help we need and I mean when does somebody finally stand up and say ‘hey this is what I did, this is the part that I played if you want to sit and judge me on that go ahead’, but I’m past that, I’m at the point where let’s fricking do something about this because there’s kids dying out there, and to me nobody should have to die,” he said, calling for the government to offer more mental health and addictions supports and services.
West Shore RCMP are now investigating the 12-year-old’s death. Police involvement is not common in most overdose deaths.
“Given the young age of the child it’s not surprising that there’s going to be some much greater scrutiny given to the circumstances that led to a 12-year-old having drugs that she might be able to use and ultimately die from,” said Michael Mulligan, a criminal defense lawyer in Victoria.
Mulligan says those involved could face anything from drug trafficking charges to criminal negligence causing death to manslaughter.
“If you had somebody convicted of trafficking fentanyl to a 12-year-old, jail would not only be a likelihood it would be a certainty,” he said.
Cale says he has undergone a five hour interview with RCMP and had his house searched but so far he has not been charged with any crime.
West Shore RCMP says they should have an update on their investigation next week.
April Lawrence
