The brother of accused murderer Denecho King is awaiting sentencing after being convicted of drug trafficking last week.
Travis King, 21, appeared in before Justice Karan Shaner in NWT Supreme Court Thursday, pleading guilty to one count of possessing of a substance for the purpose of trafficking.
On May 27, 2016, a vehicle carrying King and three other men was stopped for speeding by RCMP just south of Hay River.
Police asked King and the others if they had been involved in a car accident that occurred near Enterprise not long before. All of the occupants denied being involved.
Police soon learned King and two of the occupants had been in one of the vehicles involved in the accident but had switched cars before being pulled over.
As a result, King, the driver of the vehicle that crashed and another passenger were arrested for obstruction of justice and taken to the Hay River RCMP detachment.
In an effort to locate the smell of marijuana detected during the roadside stop, officers strip-searched King – discovering 111 grams of powdered cocaine concealed in his underwear. He was also found to have $1,255 in cash in his possession.
King’s lawyer, Peter Harte, challenged the drug charge that followed, filing a charter application that argued his client was arrested and strip-searched illegally.
His challenge was ultimately dismissed by Justice Shaner.
With a conviction entered following his guilty plea, Harte urged Justice Shaner to consider the troubled upbringing of his client – marked by neglect, homelessness and abuse – when reaching a sentencing decision. In his call for an 18-month sentence followed by probation, Harte underscored the trauma King endured as a child, including having his first encounter with social services at the age of one.
King broke down in tears as Harte detailed a tumultuous childhood he said left his client “traumatized.”
Harte said King turned to selling drugs as a means of survival.
Due to the amount of cocaine seized – a commercial quantity – the starting point for sentencing is three years, a sentence the Crown is calling for.
King will be sentenced on June 18.
-Brendan Burke
Six-month sentence for man who sold crack to undercover officer
A Yellowknife man who sold crack cocaine to an undercover police officer last year was handed a six-month sentence in NWT territorial court last week.
Russell Hamilton, 41, appeared before Chief Judge Christine Gagnon Friday after previously being convicted of trafficking and possessing cocaine.
On March 14, 2017, undercover officers called a number associated with a dial-a-dope phone line – a service that connects users to drugs. A man answered and arranged a drug deal. Undercover officers arrived at a city apartment complex, where Hamilton met them and sold them a gram of crack.
During a raid at his apartment unit two days later, Hamilton was arrested as he entered the building. Police found crack, cash and a crack pipe in his possession.
Hamilton, who was bound by two separate probation orders at the time of his arrest, was charged with two counts of failing to comply with conditions. He entered a guilty plea to all charges.
On the count of trafficking, Gagnon sentenced Hamilton to six months in custody. But with credit for time served amounting to 177 days – just shy of six months – only three days remained to be served.
For Hamilton's possession conviction – a lesser included offence – he received 85 days to be served consecutively, meaning the three remaining days on his trafficking conviction will be added onto the 85 days, amounting to 88 days in total.
Because this falls under 90 days, Hamilton was eligible for an intermittent sentence – a route his lawyer Kate Oja pushed at Hamilton's first sentencing hearing in March – and he was granted one by Gagnon.
Hamilton will spend 44 weekends at North Slave Correctional Centre and will be on probation for 18 months.
-Brendan Burke
Body found on Twin Pine Hill identified
A deceased person found on Yellowknife's Twin Pine Hill last week has been identified as 51-year-old Ronald Taylor.
The NWT Coroner Service confirmed the man’s identity in an email to Yellowknifer Monday.
The Coroner’s Office joined RCMP in investigating the sudden death after Taylor’s body was discovered on May 9, in a wooded area between 44th Street and School Draw Avenue.
An area resident notified police after spotting Taylor's body around 9 a.m., stated RCMP.
A cause of death has not yet been released and police haven't said whether or not the death is being treated as suspicious.
The NWT Coroner Service and police continue to investigate.
RCMP to boost number of reservists
The RCMP's reserve program is set to expand following an approval from the Treasury Board of Canada.
The nation-wide program, which has retired Mounties fill in for full-time officers who are on leave or at special events, has been given the green light to hike the number of reservists from 400 to 1200, stated a news release.
The RCMP will accept applications for would be relief officers – who will hold the same authority and responsibilities as full-time officers – in the “near future,” the release stated.
“Expanding the RCMP Reserve Program is an effective way of enhancing the RCMP's ability to respond to fluctuating requirements for trained and experienced police officers,” stated federal minister of public safety Ralph Goodale in the news release.
The RCMP enrolled 1,152 cadets in 2017-2018 – nearly triple the number seen five years ago.
There are more than 18,000 members of the force Canada-wide.
-Brendan Burke