SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A 17-year-old Yellowknife drug trafficker was sentenced to 15 months probation and ordered to perform 120 hours of community service by Judge Bernadette Schmaltz in youth justice court on June 9.

On Nov. 17, 2010, a Yellowknife RCMP officer received a cellphone number from an informant regarding an individual involved in a "dial a dope" operation in the city, said Crown prosecutor Duane Praught. The officer sent a text to the number at around 7:55 p.m. indicating he was "looking for two." After some negotiation with the offender, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, a drug deal was set up for 8:30 p.m. at a motel on Franklin Avenue.

At that time, the offender, driving a silver Pontiac Sunfire, pulled up to the motel and sold the officer two "spitballs," or balls of cocaine wrapped in plastic, with a combined weight of 1.4 grams for $200. After the car pulled away, the officer radioed a description of the vehicle and the licence plate number to a nearby undercover patrol car. The patrol car followed the Sunfire but lost it in traffic. Coincidentally, the Sunfire ran a stop sign and was pulled over by a marked patrol car on 56 Street moments later. The vehicle was registered to the accused, who was also the driver of the vehicle. The RCMP were able to determine the location of his residence from the vehicle registration, said Praught.

The house he lived in was under surveillance by the police for the next several months although they never arrested or charged the youth with trafficking cocaine until March 24. The police also sent the cocaine out for analysis prior to that.

Praught noted the young offender didn't have a criminal record, and requested Schmaltz sentence the drug dealer to probation in the range of 16-18 months and order him to perform 80-100 hours of community service.

Defence lawyer Abdul Khan requested probation and 50-80 hours of community service since his client is currently employed full-time.

Before being sentenced, the 17-year-old offender's father spoke to the court and said since the arrest he has noticed an improvement in his son's attitude toward his family and his schoolwork. He added it was disturbing to find out some of the drug activity was taking place in the family home while he and his wife were away.

The youth told the court he is no longer associating with the same individuals and realizes he made a mistake and some bad judgments about who his friends were.

"I don't want this in my life anymore," he told Schmaltz. "I just want to push forward and move on with my life."

He added that he recently graduated from high school and is planning on enrolling in post-secondary education.

Schmaltz largely agreed with the Crown's recommendation and ordered the offender to abstain from non-prescribed drugs and alcohol and not to possess a cellphone for the duration of the probation order. She also issued a 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew for the first six months of probation and ordered the offender to have no contact with four other youths - one of whom is accused of a related crime - except for one of the individuals to allow the two to play soccer against each other in a Yellowknife league.

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