Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Feb 21/01) - Michael Fatt of Lutsel K'e will spend eight months in prison for acting on a forged document and fraudulently obtaining $2,000 from his employer.
Fatt was working for Geostar Consultants in Calgary when he committed the offenses in May 1998.
At that time Fatt asked his to borrow a car from his employer to drive to Edmonton to see his sister.
The car brakes needed to be fixed so he offered to bring it to a mechanic while there.
He was provided with a company cheque stating "not to exceed $200" for the repairs.
Upon his return Fatt said the car had not been fixed and he had torn up the cheque.
In fact, court was told that he had altered the cheque so that it stated "not to exceed $2,000" and cashed it.
Bourassa noted that Fatt had a lengthy criminal record dating back to 1984, including manslaughter, robbery and break, enter and theft.
"Here's a man, for 16 years who has been on a non-stop rampage," said Bourassa.
Fatt is serving the remaining three months of a 12-month sentence for break, enter and theft.
He will serve an additional eight months for the fraud-related charges concurrent and consecutive to his current sentence.
Guiness sentence handed down
A man arrested as a result of the RCMP's Operation Guiness drug bust will spend some time in prison.
Dayl Hein, 33, was sentenced to 60 days in the Yellowknife Correctional Centre after pleading guilty to two charges of trafficking marijuana.
Hein provided an undercover police agent with two grams of marijuana in exchange for $40 at a Yellowknife bar.
The agent was wearing a concealed recording device at the time of the transaction.
Crown prosecutor Sue Kendall told the court that Hein had a history of selling drugs in Yellowknife.
Defense counsel James Brydon requested that his client serve an intermittent sentence on weekends so he could take care of his two children during the week.
He explained the mother of Hein's commonlaw wife had offered to take care of the children while her daughter was at work and Hein in prison. However, the woman fell ill recently and can no longer follow through on the agreement.
Although Hein had sold only two grams of marijuana, Bourassa said it wasn't in the best interest of the public to hand down an intermittent sentence.
"It's clear from looking at (Hein's) record that he's comfortable with trafficking."
Bourassa said an intermittent sentence would have been considered for Hein's first or second drug-related offence, but not the third.
Before sentencing Hein said the undercover agent he had sold the marijuana to was a friend of his for the past 14 years.
"I bought (drugs) from him as well and I feel he is just as guilty as I am."
