Nine months for trafficking
Man pleads guilty after cocaine found in residence
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Published Friday, December 19, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A B.C. man has been sentenced to nine months in jail after pleading guilty to possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
Jacob Feldman, 18, was handed his punishment by Judge Bernadette Schmaltz in territorial court on Monday. He was charged on Aug. 12 after RCMP officers conducted a raid at a residence on Fairchild Crescent in Northland Trailer Park.
Feldman claimed possession of the 13 grams of powdered cocaine that was found in a kitchen cupboard. He admitted to the court that the cocaine was for sale. Police also seized $5,950 from the home as well as scales, baggies and a drug debt ledger.
Schmaltz told Feldman the sentence was relatively light in comparison to other sentences in the NWT for similar offences.
"Cocaine has devastated the lives of many people in our community and if Mr. Feldman thinks he'll get off with a relatively light sentence if this happens again, he's mistaken," said Schmaltz.
She gave him credit for his guilty plea early in the court proceedings. Court heard that officers had been watching both Feldman and the residence where the cocaine was found leading up to his arrest. The search warrant was part of an initiative dubbed "Project Goblin" by police, which targeted what they described as a dial-a-dope operation. Schmaltz said Feldman appeared to be a minor player in the operation where people would call a number and have cocaine delivered to them
"This dial-a-dope operation was brilliant in its simplicity," Schmaltz said. "This was not a spur of the moment offence. It was planned and it was your choice to be involved. Cocaine trafficking is not a victimless crime, the whole community is a victim."
Feldman apologized to the court and said he intended to better himself in the future.
The nine-month sentence had already been agreed upon in a joint submission by Feldman's defence lawyer Mike Martin and Jen Bond, the Crown prosecutor in the case. Feldman was given three months credit for the 60 days he spent in pre-trial custody. Feldman was ordered to provide a sample of his DNA for the national registry and is prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm for 10 years upon his release from jail.
Five other charges against Feldman were withdrawn following his sentencing. According to his lawyer, Feldman is still before the courts on at least one other charge.
