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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A novice drug dealer escaped jail time last week as Judge Robert Gorin drew from sentences in recent similar cases to craft a punishment that is "a denunciation and sufficiently punitive to be a deterrent."

The 22-year-old unemployed plumber, who has no prior convictions, had pleaded guilty in territorial court to a charge of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

The case began earlier this year when an informant tipped police that the man was running a "dial-a-dope" operation from his cellphone.

The dealer's phone records showed he had been selling marijuana for three months, in amounts ranging from a few grams to as much as half a pound, when police lured him to a meeting and arrested him with a quarter pound of the drug.

Although the offender told the court he was "sorry," Gorin said the man showed a lack of remorse during interviews for a pre-sentence report by expressing the view that marijuana should be legalized.

On July 28, Gorin imposed an eight-month conditional sentence, the first 180 days to be served under house arrest, six months probation and 90 hours of community service work.

The offender was banned from using a cellphone and prohibited from owning firearms for 10 years.

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