DRUG DEALER SENTENCED

A North Vancouver man who advertised his dial-a-dope business with a
business card that urged clients to "Spark up with Jake's Herbal Remedy"
has been sentenced to 10 months in jail (time served) and put on probation
for 12 months.

James Nathan Kelly, 47, pleaded guilty in North Vancouver provincial court
June 23 to six counts of trafficking in a controlled substance.

North Vancouver RCMP came across Kelly's business card and decided to
determine its veracity with a phone call. They weren't disappointed.

The undercover operatives bought one ounce of marijuana for $200 from Kelly
on March 27, 2002, and on April 18, 2002, bought five more ounces for $970.

The next day, undercover officers returned to buy an ounce of cocaine for
$1,300, and on May 2, 2002, bought five more ounces of marijuana for $970.
Police returned yet again on May 3 and purchased another ounce of cocaine
for $1,300 and on June 7, 2002, bought a pound of marijuana for $2,800.
Kelly was arrested after this purchase and jailed.

John White, federal drug prosecutor, told Judge Judith Gedye the quantity
of drugs sold by Kelly to undercover officers "makes this one of the more
serious dial-a-dope operations that North Vancouver provincial court has
seen in a while."

White said Kelly has a "lengthy and serious" criminal record that began in
November 1984 with a trafficking conviction; followed by a conviction for
possession of a controlled substance in October 1985. He was convicted of
possession twice in 1988, and again in 1991.

In 1992 Kelly was convicted of trafficking and in 1994 convicted of
conspiracy to traffic in narcotics.

Kelly's penultimate conviction was Aug. 1, 2002, when he was jailed for 30
days for theft under $5,000. This offence occurred after Kelly had already
been charged with the six most recent offences.

Janet Winteringham, Kelly's lawyer, pointed out that Kelly was a middleman
in the dial-a-dope operation and "clearly not operating the business by
himself.

"There were two other men referred to in the police reports," she said,
"and he had $300 on him when he was arrested. That should show where he
fitted in the hierarchy."

White described Kelly as: "the retail end" of the dial-a-dope business.
"The fact is," White added, " without retailers those who produce, import,
refine and distribute (controlled drugs) can't get paid for it. The
retailer is the sharp end of the spear."

Winteringham told Gedye that Kelly has been a drug addict from the age of
nine when he was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a relative. "The drugs
were used to calm him during the assaults," she said.

Noting that Kelly had been in custody for 10 months and three days prior to
coming to trial, Winteringham asked Gedye to sentence him to time-served on
the grounds that "he's done his time."

White couldn't disagree with her. "She's right," he said, "he's done the
bulk of his time."

Gedye told Kelly: "if you continue to blame someone else you'll never
survive the next 40 years of your life. When you have a choice about
messing up again try to make better decisions and do whatever it takes to
get that monkey off your back."

Gedye put Kelly on 12 months probation and told him "to get back on - and
stay on - the wagon."

After Gedye imposed a mandatory five-year firearms prohibition, Kelly told
Gedye he is "an avid outdoors person" and asked to allowed to hunt.

"You'll have to go fishing," was Gedye's response. "You'll not be doing any
hunting."