Woman held in drunk tank for days
Father outraged 18-year-old daughter kept in windowless cell, allowed only one shower
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The father of a young woman currently being held in custody claims she was kept in an RCMP holding cell, often referred to as the "drunk tank," for days on end earlier this year.
The man, who asked not to be identified, said he was not allowed to visit his 18-year-old daughter during that time.
"She only had one shower the entire 12 days," he told Yellowknifer outside the courthouse.
His daughter was sentenced by Judge Garth Malakoe last Thursday to six months in jail after she pleaded guilty to charges of break and enter and theft. Yellowknifer has chosen to name her because of her age and relatively short and minor criminal record.
Her lawyer, Tu Pham, said he could only confirm she spent six days in the RCMP holding cells.
"She was allowed to have one shower at or near the end of those six days," he said.
Court heard the woman was living in an unheated trailer in Ndilo with her boyfriend on Dec. 29 of last year when the couple headed out on foot to see how they might be able to scrounge up some food. They ended up at the Coast Fraser Tower where they stole the master room key from the pocket of a sweater that a maid had left hanging outside a room. Crown prosecutor Jill Andrews told the court the pair entered a number of rooms and stole several items, including money and jewelry.
RCMP was alerted after the couple knocked on a guest room's door claiming they were housekeepers. The man inside knew that wasn't the case and alerted the front desk. Police were called and the couple were identified through surveillance video.
Then on Jan. 6, before the Mounties had caught up to them, they stole a medical bag off the back of a restaurant chair while a doctor was eating. It contained a key to one of the clinics and a USB stick.
Court heard the couple had found emergency housing in between the two thefts. Police found them at their new residence, saw the USB stick in plain view, and arrested the couple who then admitted to the thefts, Andrews said.
According to victim impact statements, at least two of the victims of the thefts from Coast Fraser Tower stated they suffered emotional trauma caused by the burglaries. Andrews told the court one man had his grandmother's jewelry stolen and that it held great sentimental value to him. Another couple that was victimized had been visiting from Japan and felt they were in some way responsible for the thefts.
"They stated that they came here for the trip of a lifetime and left saying it was a trip they would never forget," Andrews told the court.
She told Malakoe the women should be sentenced to four to six months in jail.
Pham told the court his client had a difficult upbringing to say the least.
"She was abandoned by her mother and taken into the custody of child and family services at age four," Pham said. "She was smoking pot by age eight, drinking by 12 and was in an abusive relationship with an adult male by 15. The system failed her."
Pham said the 86 days she spent in pre-trial custody would be a sufficient sentence.
The woman gave an tearful, emotional apology as she read from a five-page, handwritten note.
"I am deeply sorry. I have deep remorse for what I have done. I know that it is not OK to steal. I was homeless and struggling. I was frozen and had frostbite from living in the trailer in Ndilo. When we stole the items we were just looking for food and warmth," she told the court. "I am determined to complete high school and go into nursing and I am truly sorry for what has happened."
In sentencing the woman Malakoe said he was not making light of her hardships and believed her apology was sincere.
"I believe she has had time to think about the effects of her actions," he said.
The woman will have to serve another month in custody after being given credit for a day and a half for each of the 86 days she spent in pre-trial custody. She remains before the court on a charge of robbery after a cabbie was mugged in Old Town back in February. She is back in court on that charge on June 23.
One of her co-accused on that matter is Denecho King. The 22-year-old man is also charged with murder and attempted murder after two men were attacked at the Sunridge Place apartment last December.
Yellowknifer asked the Mounties and the justice department to explain why the woman was held for so many days in the RCMP cells but neither provided comment by press time.
