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Justice briefs: Woman gets six months for crack cocaine trafficking

Brendan-Burke

A woman who sold crack to an undercover officer during a “dial-a-dope” investigation was sentenced to six months in jail last week.

Tony Lynette Marie Tobac, 27, was handed the sentence in Supreme Court Friday by Justice Shannon Smallwood after being convicted in January on one count of trafficking cocaine.

Tobac was charged last year after a drug trafficking probe led by Yellowknife RCMP's Federal Investigation Unit – dubbed Project Glacier – led officers to her Grayling Manor apartment.

In the afternoon of March 13, 2017, an undercover officer called a suspected “dial-a-dope” phone number, an operation that connects would be buyers to illegal drugs. The officer spoke briefly with a man and a woman who told him they'd call him back. A minute later, a man called back and told the undercover officer to go to the apartment building's side door.

Shortly after, Tobac opened the side door and walked with the undercover officer to the base of a stairwell.
Tobac told the officer she'd been “sent down,” before selling him one piece of crack cocaine for $80.

Three days later, RCMP executed a search warrant at an apartment Tobac shared with a man who was also charged with drug trafficking following the RCMP sweep.

The man, Russell Hamilton, is currently awaiting sentencing for cocaine trafficking.

Two phones, a digital scale and “score sheets” were found inside the unit.

Tobac, whose upbringing was marked by violence and substance abuse, sold crack cocaine to support her own addiction and to earn money, court documents show.

Following her release, Tobac will be on probation for 18 months.

Man charged following assault at downtown residence

A 22-year-old man was arrested by Yellowknife RCMP late Friday evening after police say he assaulted another man.

Karl James Gardlund, of Yellowknife, was charged with aggravated assault after officers responded to a call for service at a downtown residence.

A 23-year-old Whitehorse man was assaulted outside of the residence and required medical attention at Stanton Territorial Hospital after sustaining “serious injuries,” a RCMP news release stated Monday.

The man was later transported to Edmonton via air ambulance for further treatment.

Gardlund was released on a recognizance and is due back in court on April 24.

RCMP stated an investigation into the assault continues.

Working to prevent impaired driving

In a bid to remind residents that alcohol isn't the only cause of impairment behind the wheel, RCMP are taking part in a Canada-wide prevention program.

On March 18, NWT RCMP and RCMP traffic services began conducting enforcement activities as part of National Impaired Driving Prevention Week.

The campaign, which wraps up March 24, seeks to raise awareness about the many forms of impairment beyond alcohol consumption, including taking illegal and prescribed drugs and mixing alcohol with prescription drugs.

Driving tired or distracted can also lead to impairment.

“It's all about education and safety on our roads. We want the public to understand the dangers of driving impaired, and ultimately, we want to stop impaired driving,” stated Cpl. Todd Scaplen in a news release.

The blitz will see officers conduct traffic check stops to both enforce laws and educate drivers.

With the looming legalization of marijuana just months away, RCMP stated they are “updating and expanding training to detect drug impaired drivers,” but currently rely on standardized field sobriety testing as the “primary tool against drug-impaired drivers.”