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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Two men have been ordered to stand trial after being accused of robbing a cab driver at knifepoint and allegedly attempting to rob another taxi driver on the same day in December.

Brent Michael and Sean Qitsualik each face two counts of robbery and two counts of disguising their faces with intent to commit an offence.

On Wednesday, Judge Garth Malakoe ordered the men to stand trial following a preliminary inquiry, which was held to ensure the Crown has sufficient evidence to proceed to trial.

Michael is also facing a charge for failing to comply with probation orders.

Judge alone trial for woman charged in drug bust

A 26-year-old woman charged in a $750,000 Yellowknife drug bust has chosen to be tried by judge alone.

Brittany Beaulieu, charged with two counts of drug possession for the purpose of trafficking, was in territorial court Tuesday morning and waived her right to a preliminary inquiry.

Two others accused in the case, Alexander Mackenzie Smith and Justin Gabriel Wanderingspirit, have also decided to be tried by judge alone. Smith and Wanderingspirit are each accused of two counts of drug possession for the purpose of trafficking. Beaulieu, Smith and Wanderingspirit were all charged in relation to a Jan. 20 seizure when 2,000 dosages of cocaine, 500 dosages of crack and the equivalent of more than 52,000 joints of marijuana were seized from a Yellowknife home.

Career criminal pleads guilty to another break-in

Eric Wardell pleaded guilty Tuesday to breaking and entering and committing an indictable offence.

Wardell, 44, was arrested in May for breaking into Headgear, a retail store on Franklin Avenue, and making off with the cash register.

He has a history of thefts and break and enters. As of 2010 he had been convicted of 57 property-related crimes. He was sentenced to one year in jail in November 2010 after he pleaded guilty to break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence based on an incident at a business on Old Airport Road.

Prior to that, Wardell had served a five-year prison term for 21 convictions of breaking and entering. Wardell, who appeared in court by video conference on Tuesday, is expected back in court Aug. 10 for facts and sentencing related to this latest crime.

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