JUDGE CRACKS DOWN ON DOPE DEALERS

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Two young men will spend several months in
jail after unrelated convictions for possessing drugs for the purpose
of trafficking, which one lawyer says reflects a move toward longer
drug sentences.

"We're seeing the beginning of a trend on the part of the court to
impose harsher sentences for trafficking-type offences, including
marijuana," said defence lawyer Stephen Shabala, who represented one
of the convicted men. "Harsh sentences will deter some people, but at
the end of the day, we'll still have some individuals still willing to
take the risk and engage in the trade."

Judge Bernadette Schmaltz dealt with both cases, and both were
operating through a "dial-a-dope" system, where buyers contact dealers
on their cell phones.

"They have to realize the risk they're taking is not worth the
consequences," Schmaltz said of the convictions and sentences.

In one case, Elliott Michael Brown, 21, who said he wants to pursue a
career in business, was sentenced to nine months in jail after he
pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana for the purpose of
trafficking on Jan. 19. It was Brown's second conviction for the same
charge.

"This was not social trafficking or selling drugs to friends and
acquaintances," Schmaltz said on Jan. 21 before handing down her
sentence. "He wasn't at the bottom of the distributor's chain."

She said she had to consider a sentence "severe enough it will
discourage Elliott Brown but also (discourage) others from getting
involved."

A day earlier, Schmaltz sentenced Travis Ryan Bungay, 19, to six
months in jail and one year of probation after he pleaded guilty to
the charge of possessing magic mushrooms for the purpose of
trafficking. It was his first conviction.

Bungay, who was caught with 116 grams of mushrooms had been texting a
phone number he thought to be a friend's, when it turned out to be an
RCMP officer whose number was only one digit different than his
friend's number.

Schmaltz stressed the drug trade was challenging alcohol in the damage
it causes to Northern communities.

"It's a parasitic lifestyle preying on the weakness of others," she
said, calling it "anything but a victimless crime."

In Brown's case, he told the court he'd had time to reflect on his
choices and has seen the negative effects drugs have had on people.

"It's good being away from the bad choice that brought me down in
Yellowknife," he said of the interruption of his first semester of
business courses at college.

On Aug. 21, a police officer posing as a drug customer apprehended
Brown in the parking lot of the Super 8 Hotel. Police seized Brown's
Blackberry, the two ounces of marijuana they said they'd buy and
$1,145 in cash.

As part of his sentence, Brown forfeited his phone and the
cash.

He was convicted of the same offence in 2008 and was sentenced to a
six-month conditional sentence. Brown's aunt and uncle, who are his
legal guardians, were present in the courtroom. His aunt cried when
the judge finished reading her verdict.