Andrew Raven
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Apr 07/04) - A second Yellowknife man has been sentenced in connection with the murder of reputed crack-cocaine dealer Justin Hai Van Vo.

Dale Arnold Coutoreille, 44, will spend the next 18 months behind bars after pleading guilty last week in Supreme Court to accessory to murder after the fact.

Vo's charred body was found by police on June 16, 2003, near the Yellowknife River Bridge.

"Accessory to murder is a serious charge," said Supreme Court Justice Virginia Schuler.

Coutoreille was sentenced to three years in prison, but was given extra credit for the nine months he spent in 23-hour-a-day lockdown before pleading guilty, April 1.

He joins Richard Tutin as the second of four men charged in connection with Vo's death to be convicted. Tutin was sentenced, also on April 1, to 3.5 years in prison -- less 18 months for time served.

Francis Yukon and Gerald Delorme are awaiting trial on first degree murder charges.

The details of the case are subject to a publication ban until the conclusion of the Yukon and Delorme cases.

Like Tutin, Coutoreille was originally charged with first degree murder. Both may testify in the Yukon and Delorme trials, but Crown attorney Noel Sinclair said neither were granted immunity in return for their testimony.