POT WAREHOUSE OPERATOR JAILED

Larry Finnemore will serve his 90-day sentence on weekends.

A London man was sent to jail for 90 days yesterday for running a pot
warehouse out of the home he shares with his wife and two children.

"You've got to walk away from this," said Superior Court Justice Peter
Hockin, looking straight at 24-year-old Larry Finnemore. "If there is a
second trip here, it will be a long one (with) substantial jail time. "Do
you get it?"

Finnemore nodded, clearly pleased with the intermittent sentence which will
be served on weekends to allow him to keep his job.

"Your life will get a lot simpler if you keep your nose away from the
jackasses you're dealing with," said Hockin.

The sentence was what defence lawyer Carolyn Ayre had suggested, after
telling court her client is a good father who has suffered financially
since his arrest Nov. 7, 2001.

That night, police searched his Frances Street home and found about 500
grams of cannabis resin and more than 300 grams of marijuana.

They also found digital scales and hundreds of empty film canisters for
resin. The entire seizure had a street value of about $15,000. He was
storing the drugs for an acquaintance and not actually trafficking them,
she said.

Finnemore pleaded guilty in March to two counts of possession for the
purpose of trafficking. Federal prosecutor Bill Buchner asked the judge not
to be swayed by pending federal legislation that could decriminalize simple
possession of marijuana.

"This city is having considerable trouble with the production and
distribution of marijuana," said Buchner.

He said police expect to triple the amount of drugs they seize this year
compared to 2001 -- mostly attributed to marijuana.

Finnemore's children lived at the residence where their dad was storing the
drugs behind a locked door.