ANOTHER WARRIOR PLEADS GUILTY

After watching the Manitoba Warriors trial stumble through the last
nine months, Craig Thomas elected to bail out of the slow-moving
proceedings yesterday and plead guilty to drug charges.

The street gang member admitted his role in conspiring to traffic
cocaine and was handed a five-year prison sentence.

To date, 21 of the 35 accused have pleaded guilty.

The trial, which is Canada's first test of new gang conspiracy
legislation, began last September and has been subjected to numerous
delays and controversy.

Queen's Bench Associate Chief Justice Jeffrey Oliphant agreed
yesterday to the deal reached between the Crown and defence which
calls for a five-year prison term, in addition to the 18 months
Thomas, 23, has already spent in pre-trial custody.

Severed From Trial

Last week when Oliphant requested time to meet the Crown and defence
lawyers for six of the accused who will be severed from the main trial.

Madam Justice Ruth Krindle ruled last month a jury could not
reasonably handle a trial of 15, and forced the Crown to break the
group up in to two smaller trials of nine and six accused.

Krindle is expected to officially break up the main trial when it
resumes this morning.

Morrison told the court yesterday that Thomas "played a key role" in
the Manitoba Warriors drug network.

He said Thomas would receive large quantities of cocaine from the
highest-ranking members of the gang and was responsible for delivering
it to small-time dealers to be sold in local bars.

Morrison said Thomas earned the trust of the gang's brass because he
didn't use cocaine himself.

Thomas was already serving a two-year sentence at Stony Mountain for a
previous drug conviction and had not been held in custody with his
co-accused at the Remand Centre.