Gang member sentenced for possessing drug money
Sentence shorter than judge would have liked
Mark Rendell
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, July 23, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A member of the gang targeted in a major Yellowknife drug bust was handed a 15-month sentence this July 18 after pleading guilty to possessing around $21,000 in cash obtained from the sale of crack-cocaine.
Items seized during Dec. 6 drug raids in Yellowknife are displayed at an RCMP press conference. Eleven people, including Matthew Jager sentenced July 18, were arrested. The RCMP confiscated more than $32,000 in cash, 226 grams of marijuana, 85 grams of crack-cocaine and numerous weapons. - NNSL File Photo |
Matther Jager, 30, was arrested on Dec. 6 during an RCMP operation that confiscated more than $32,000 in cash, 226 grams of marijuana, 85 grams of crack-cocaine and numerous weapons.
Eleven other alleged members of the "856" gang - named after a B.C. area code - were rounded up after Yellowknife RCMP officers posed as buyers and purchased 47 individual packages of crack-cocaine on 13 different occasions.
When the police raided Jager's residence on Taltheilei Drive, they found the majority of the bills they had used to purchase drugs with as well as 28 grams of marijuana. Jager is the first person involved in the bust to be sentenced.
The presiding judge, Justice Garth Malakoe, said Jager's 15-month sentence - minus around 330 days taken off for time served in custody - was "extremely lenient, and not what I would like to give."
The sale of crack-cocaine, he said, is "a plague that has infested the social fabric of our community," and is linked to many of Yellowknife's ills, from robbery to murder.
While Jager was not charged with trafficking - a crime that can carry a life sentence - given the circumstances, Malakoe said, there was little difference between trafficking and Jager's possession of the proceeds of trafficking.
"He was holding $21,000 for others in the organization so they could continue trafficking," he said.
Malakoe said he respected the request for a 15-month sentence because it was made as a joint submission from both the Crown and defense. But he made no bones about being unhappy.
Defense lawyer Peter Harte said the Crown agreed to the joint submission in order to secure an early guilty plea from Jager.
According to Malakoe, Jager has been involved in the drug trade for a number of years. He was convicted of trafficking in 2002 at age 18 and again in 2007.
According to Hart, Jager had a troubled childhood. He grew up in foster care in B.C.'s Lower Mainland and was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder at a young age.
During the sentencing he was identified by Malakoe as a junior member in the 856 gang - attested to by the "8" tattooed on the inside of his lip. The "5" and "6" are added when one becomes a full member, said Malakoe.
Along with his sentence, Jager had to forfeit the $21,000 in his possession at time of his arrest as well as give a sample of his DNA for future tracking purposes. He also received a month-long sentence for marijuana possession, to be served at the same time.
Stanislaus Cochrane, another alleged member of the 856 gang, is expected to appear in court today on drug trafficking charges.
