WARRIORS CASE TOOK LONG AND TORTUOUS ROAD

Nov. 4, 1998: Following a year-long investigation, nearly 100 Winnipeg
police officers conclude Operation Northern Snow with a series of
pre-dawn raids across the city. Thirty-five alleged members of the
Manitoba Warriors street gang are charged in the largest crackdown of
its kind. They face drug and weapons offences, along with a new
federal anti-gang charge that targets criminal organizations.

December 1998: Numerous bail applications are made and all are
denied.

Feb. 4, 1999: The provincial Tory government begins renovations on a
Fort Garry seed warehouse that will become a courthouse for the mega-trial.

April 30: The first accused to plead guilty receives a three-year
prison sentence.

Aug. 4: The Crown stays charges against one accused in exchange for
his testimony at trial.

Sept. 7: The trial gets under way at the Fort Garry courthouse, with
dozens of pre-trial motions and legal challenges on the agenda.

September to January: In a flurry of activity, 17 accused plead guilty and
receive sentences ranging from time in custody to six years in prison. One
person is granted immunity in exchange for his testimony at trial.

Feb. 22, 2000: Defence lawyers ask to move the case out of the Fort
Garry courthouse, claiming it prejudices their clients' right to a
fair trial. Their motion is denied.

March 21: Several Manitoba Warriors begin a two-day protest by
refusing to leave their jail cells and come to court. They are angry
over the dangerous way they claim sheriff's officers are driving them
to the Fort Garry courthouse every day.

March 29: The trial grinds to a halt as defence lawyers and the Crown
bicker over who should pay a $30,000 fee to get a protected witness to
court to testify in a defence motion.

April 5: After the accused bring forward a court motion, the Winnipeg
Remand Centre agrees to change its policy and allow contact visits
between long-term inmates such as the alleged Warriors and their families.

April 28: The Assembly of First Nations announces it is trying to
enlist the aid of activists Rubin (Hurricane) Carter and Rev. Jesse
Jackson to draw attention to the case, which the AFN claims is unfair
and unjust.

May 14: Lead Crown attorney Bob Morrison threatens legal action
against Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Minister Eric Robinson over
comments he made that the treatment of the accused is an example of
racism in the justice system.

May 16: Madam Justice Ruth Krindle rules a jury cannot reasonably
handle a trial of more than eight accused and splits the main case.
Nine accused remain with the main trial while the other six have to
start from scratch before a new judge at the downtown Law Courts Building.

May 23: Justice Jeffrey Oliphant begins meetings with the Crown and
defence lawyers to determine whether any plea bargains can be reached
to reduce the size of the case.

May 25: Krindle threatens to sequester a jury in the fall if lawyers
don't stop discussing the Warriors case with the media.

May 31: For the first time in several months, an accused pleads
guilty. Craig Thomas receives five years in prison.

June 1: Another accused, Trevor Boubard, pleads guilty following
discussions between his lawyer, the Crown and Oliphant. He is
sentenced to a year in jail.

June 5: Four days after he pleaded guilty, Boubard is released from
prison because of a controversial calculation used to compute parole.

June 12: The defence team abandons a controversial motion in which
they planned to argue police unfairly targeted their clients because
they are native.

July 4: The case finally resumes when Krindle returns from holidays
and is told the Crown and defence need one more day for
discussions.

July 5: The day proves fruitful as 12 accused plead guilty to drug
charges, leaving only one person before the courts.

July 10: Sentencing will begin for the accused and is expected to last
all week.