HOME INVASION TIED TO DRUG WAR; TRIO SENT TO JAIL

THREE men were sentenced yesterday for a violent home invasion that
prosecutors say was part of a turf war over the city's drug trade.

As part of a plea bargain, Husan Mir, 26, David Thomas, 22, and Nathan
Hall, 26, pleaded guilty to breaking and entering with intent to commit an
indictable offence.

Armed with a shotgun and handgun, the three men and two others broke into a
College Avenue home in May 2003.

Court was told the break-in was prompted by a dispute between rival
drug-trafficking factions, one headed by Mir and the other known as LHS,
which stands for loyalty, honour and silence.

Prosecutor Tracey Lord told Court of Queen's Bench that Mir and two others
been driving around the North End when they spotted a man from the LHS crew.

They followed him to a home in the 700 block of College Avenue and saw him
go inside. Steal whatever

Lord said Hall and Thomas then met up with Mir and it was decided that they
and two other men would break into the home and steal whatever guns, money
and drugs they could find.

Once inside, Lord said, the accused assaulted one of their rivals at gunpoint.

However, one man in the house was able to escape and call police. All five
intruders were arrested close the scene.

Lord said the victims either refused to testify or were unco-operative at
the preliminary hearing. As a result, two of the accused were given
immunity after agreeing to testify against Mir, Thomas and Hall.

Winesses But Lord said that since then, both those men have become involved
in crime, which she indicated would make it difficult to use them as witnesses.

Under the plea bargain, Mir was sentenced to four years in prison. With
credit for pretrial time served, he will spend only another 15 months
behind bars.

Hall was also given a four-year sentence, but because he was on parole at
the time of the crime, he must serve another two years.

Thomas was given a 3 1/2-year term, but with credit for time served has
only another two months remaining.