Erika Sherk
Northern News Services
Friday, March 16, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - A former Yellowknifer once convicted of being an accessory to the murder of a crack dealer has been sentenced to 18 months in jail on assault charges in British Columbia.

Dale Courtoreille was sentenced Feb. 27. He also received two years of probation after pleading guilty to charges of aggravated and common assault stemming from an incident on Aug. 18, 2006 in Prince George, B.C.

According to Crown counsel Shannon Keyes, Courtoreille was punching his girlfriend around 6 p.m. that day when a 55-year-old man saw what was happening and tried to stop Courtoreille.

Courtoreille punched the man once in the face, according to Keyes.

Witnesses said that the victim was knocked unconscious immediately.

"He hit his head on a lamppost and then fell to the ground and hit his head heavily on the ground," said Keyes.

She said Courtoreille left the scene but was arrested and charged by RCMP a few days later.

Keyes said the victim was in a coma for some time and needed several surgeries to relieve pressure on his brain.

Courtoreille's girlfriend had a split lip, said Keyes. At the Feb. 27 sentencing, victim impact statements were read from the assault victim and his wife, said Keyes.

"The impact to the victim in this case is life changing," said Keyes.

"He is unable to work and may be unable to work the rest of his life."

Courtoreille served 18 months in jail after pleading guilty to accessory to murder in 2004 in connection with the killing of Yellowknife crack dealer Justin Hai Van Vo.

Vo's body was found partially burned outside of Yellowknife in June 2003. He had been hit in the head with a crowbar then strangled to death with an extension cord. His murder stemmed from an argument over $900 in drug money.

Courtoreille admitted to helping two other crack users dispose of the body, but not to any involvement in the murder, according to reports at the time.

Keyes said Courtoreille told the B.C. court he plans to head to High Level, Alta., when he is released from the Prince George Regional Correctional Centre.