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Court briefs Thrasher misses court; judge orders his arrest Miranda Scotland Northern News Services Published Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Thrasher is facing two counts of breaking and entering, two counts of failure to comply with probation, possession of a break-in instrument, failure to comply with a summons and failure to comply with a condition of his undertaking. He was expected in court Thursday for facts and sentencing on two of the charges. A trial date was expected to be set for the other five charges. Crown prosecutor Jean-Benoit Deschamps brought six witnesses to last week's hearing but they were unable to give their testimony due to Thrasher's absence. Thrasher's lawyer, Hugh Latimer, said he had tried to reach his client by mail and phone but was unsuccessful. Thrasher was previously convicted of brutally stabbing and killing a dog that he stole from a parked car last year. Fisheries sentence waits until August Yellowknife commercial fisherman Brian Abbott is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to four Fisheries Act violations. The owner/operator of Great Slave Fish Products Ltd. on Jolliffe Island was in court Monday. The first count he pleaded guilty to corresponds to an incident where a commercial harvest logbook was not being filled out accurately and completely on a daily basis while Abbott was fishing on Great Slave Lake and two other smaller lakes on July 29, 2011. The second count relates to Abbott operating a vessel on Great Slave Lake without proper registration on Aug. 11, 2011. The third is for fishing commercially in a restricted area in Yellowknife Bay and the final violation was for using improperly marked fishing nets. Four other fisheries charges were dropped following Crown and defence negotiations. Abbott, who has been involved in the commercial fishery operations for two years, told the judge that it has been a steep learning curve for him and he has had trouble learning the ropes. He cited his lack of knowledge about the industry and his busy schedule as reasons for the violations. "We just didn't know what the heck we were doing," said Abbott. "I certainly won't make the same mistakes again." Schmaltz said Abbott was relying on excuses as opposed to showing remorse for his actions. She is set to give her verdict on Aug. 8. Kam Lake candidate's trial adjourned The court case against Bryan Sutherland, a candidate in the 2011 territorial election, has been adjourned again, this time until Aug. 1. Sutherland, who ran in the Kam Lake riding, is charged with failing to pay a $250 fine under the NWT Elections and Plebiscite Act. According to Elections NWT, he was penalized for failing to submit an accurate and signed financial report to the chief electoral officer within 60 days of polling, which is required of every candidate. In the 2011 election, the deadline for filing financial reports was Dec. 2. Chief electoral officer David Brock then sent Sutherland a letter on March 22 of this year, reminding him the fine must be paid, according to Elections NWT.
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