Court clerk cleared
Judge says evidence didn't support drug charge

by Chris Meyers Almey
Northern News Services

NNSL (Mar 26/97) - A territorial court clerk who was suspended from her job over a Narcotics Act charge has been found not guilty of the crime.

Sally Look, 35, was arrested Nov. 27 after police found about 60 grams of marijuana and related drug paraphernalia at her 45th Street apartment.

Mounties later charged her with possession of a narcotic for the purpose of trafficking.

While the search at Look's apartment was under way, other officers arrested Look's common-law-husband, Laurent Sirois, in a downtown bar.

Handcuffed to prevent him from removing or destroying evidence, Sirois was taken to headquarters and also charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking after police found 18 grams of marijuana in his jacket.

The estimated street value of the drugs and equipment seized in the home and on Sirois was $1,500.

Taking the witness stand, Sirois said, "I put in two grams of weed in a little box on the dresser. She didn't know nothing. Before I left home I cut some. She found out because I didn't put the stuff away. She threw the weigh scale against the door."

That was the day before the RCMP raid on their home.

Look told a similar version of the story, and denied any involvement in trafficking or knowledge of the marijuana found in the freezer. "It looked to me like he was selling narcotics. I was upset because of where I work ... we had a screaming match," she said.

Look admitted smoking marijuana occasionally, however.

But Judge Dean Saks ruled there was no evidence that Look was trafficking in narcotics. "The fact she says she smoked marijuana doesn't mean it was hers," the judge said.

Saks, a deputy judge, was brought in from Edmonton to hear the high profile case and ensure that Look's trial was fair, given her ties to the court.

Saks did, however, find Look guilty of a breach of undertaking charge, for which she received a $75 fine. Court heard Look didn't sign in with the court one Friday in February -- one of her bail conditions.

A justice official said yesterday a decision had yet to be made to re-instate Look into her clerk position.