CELL PHONE RETURNED DESPITE CONVICTION

PORT HARDY - A man convicted of possessing cocaine and marijuana gets
his cell phone back, Judge Douglas Cowan ruled Nov. 7 in court.

Terrence Clifford Gebhard admitted possessing cocaine twice and
marijuana once over the summer, but only after telling the judge he
needs his cell phone back so he doesn't miss call to work at his new
job with Canadian Fish Company.

"I need a cell phone for work," said Gebhard.

The judge replied that should not be a problem because the charges
were "just for possession." Cell phone bans are generally only
imposed for trafficking charges, he added.

The case began at 8:35 p.m. on July 2, when Port Hardy RCMP received
a tip from a reliable source that Gebhard was in possession of
cocaine for the purpose of trafficking while riding his bike along
Granville Street near the high school, said Federal Crown Counsel Paul Grier.

The police stopped Gebhard, arrested him for possession and conducted
a search that found two baggies containing nine grams of cocaine, Grier added.

Police received another tip on Aug. 14, this time saying Gebhard was
in a fight and had a gun on his person, Grier said. This time, a
search of his person found two grams of marijuana and two small
envelopes containing small amounts of cocaine.

After noting Gebhard has a record, Grier suggested he be fined $500,
given a conditional sentence and placed on probation for a year. "The
Crown was asking for no cell phone," he added. "It is believed Mr.
Gebhard is actively involved in drug trade."

Gebhard denied the allegation. "I'm not actively in drug trade any
more," he said. "I'm working in the fish plant where I get a call and
I have to be there in half an hour or miss a day of work. I started a
few weeks ago."

In the end, the judge imposed a $500 fine, placed Gebhard on a 45-day
conditional sentence followed by a year of probation.

Gebhard will be allowed his cell phone so long as his employment with
a fish plant continues. "But if he goes 15 days without employment at
a fish plant, he must surrender any cell phone or pager," said the judge.