A youth charged with making threats at a Yellowknife school appeared in court last week.
The young male, who can't be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, faces three counts of uttering threats after RCMP were notified of a “potential threat” at a city school on March 15.
He was arrested and charged on March 19.
The accused was released on conditions and placed under house arrest.
The school, which was previously named in a release from the RCMP, is now subject to a publication ban following a request from the youth's lawyer Peter Harte.
Appearing in youth court last Friday, Harte attempted to amend his client's conditions to allow him to travel outside of the territory for the March break – a request that was denied by the justice of the peace, who said the allegations, while untested by the courts, are still “very serious.”
Outside of the Yellowknife courthouse, a relative of the youth told Yellowknifer the accused had been bullied for years at the school. The relative said the youth is 13 years old.
The accused was transported to Edmonton following his arrest where he underwent a psychological assessment, the relative said.
In a release from a Yellowknife school board following the youth's arrest, the school's principal stated “the safety and well-being of students and staff is my first priority.”
As a result of the incident, the school has created a safety plan.
Along with conditions to stay inside his residence at all times, except when with his guardian, the accused is barred from contacting numerous individuals and cannot possess weapons of any kind.
He is due back in court on April 3.
Sentencing for crack dealer set
Sentencing for a Yellowknife man who sold crack cocaine through a “dial-a-dope” operation was moved to May following a hearing in NWT territorial court Monday.
Russell Hamilton, 41, appeared before Chief judge Christine Gagnon to be sentenced for convictions of drug trafficking and possession.
In March of 2017, Hamilton was arrested and charged after an RCMP-led probe into street and mid-level drug trafficking, dubbed Project Glacier, led undercover officers to the defendant's apartment.
Project Glacier, which focused on “dial-a-dope” drug operations in the city, saw officers call a number associated with the sale of crack cocaine on March 14, 2017.
A man answered and arranged to meet with undercover officers at a Yellowknife apartment building. Hamilton met the officer and sold them one street gram of crack.
A search warrant executed at the Hamilton's apartment turned up cell phones, a digital scale and drug debt “score sheets.” Hamilton was found to be carrying three pieces of crack cocaine.
Tony Lynette Marie Tobac, 27, who shared the apartment with Hamilton, was also charged during the RCMP sweep. Tobac was sentenced to six months in jail last week after being convicted of trafficking cocaine.
In court Monday, Gagnon said that while Tobac is not a co-accused in Hamilton's case, she'd still like to hear from the Crown and the defense as to whether or not Tobac's sentencing bears any relevance to Hamilton's sentencing.
Hamilton's lawyer Katherine Oja asked for time to review the Tobac sentencing decision.
As a result, Hamilton will now learn his fate when he returns to court on May 11.
The adjournment is the second of its kind after Gagnon delayed sentencing in order to weigh “challenging and creative” submissions from Oja and Crown prosecutor Duane Praught earlier this month.
Man still missing, RCMP say
A man who was last seen in Yellowknife on March 5 is still missing, say RCMP.
Detocho Anis Abel, 28, was last seen in the city's Engle Business District.
“We don't have any further information, other than to confirm that the RCMP list Mr. Abel as missing,” stated RCMP spokesperson Marie York-Condon in an email last week.
“In general all missing persons will continue to be listed as missing until the person has face to face contract with the police of the jurisdiction,” stated York-Condon.
Abel is described as Indigenous, 5’7”, weighing 205 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.
RCMP appealed for the public's help in finding Abel in a release issued on March 13.
Anyone with information on Abel’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Yellowknife RCMP at 867-669-1111. Anonymous tips can be sent to Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-TIPS or online at nwtnutips.com.
Man arrested after alleged mid-flight theft
A 26-year-old man was arrested over the weekend after RCMP responded to a call for assistance at the Yellowknife airport.
Police were advised that a passenger from Aklavik had been causing a disturbance while on a flight from Inuvik to Yellowknife Sunday afternoon.
RCMP officers arrived on scene where they learned the passenger had allegedly stolen cash from the “in-flight purchase float,”stated a news release Monday afternoon.
Travis Capot-Blanc has been charged with one count of theft under $5,000 and one count of failing to comply with an undertaking. Capot-Blanc appeared in court on Monday and is due back on April 24.
RCMP are continuing to investigate the incident.
Inter-continental flight makes emergency landing
A passenger plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Yellowknife Monday morning.
“Firefighters from the Yellowknife airport and the City of Yellowknife, with the support of the Det'on Cho Corporation responded to a medical emergency on-board a Norwegian Air Boeing 787 this morning,” stated a tweet from Yellowknife Airport on Monday.
The flight, which took off in Rome, was headed for Los Angeles before having to make the unexpected stop in Yellowknife, the tweet stated.
In an email to Yellowknifer, city spokesperson Richard McIntosh said the Yellowknife Fire Division was on scene at the airport from 8:46 a.m. until 8:58 a.m.
Due to patient confidentially and freedom of information protection, McIntosh said the nature of the medical emergency and the status of the passenger in question won't be released.
Andreas Hjornholm, a press officer at Norwegian Air, told Yellowknifer a passenger “became ill.”
“The plane had been (in the air) just around eight hours when landing at Yellowknife and was there for less than an hour before it made its way to L.A.,” stated Hjornholm in an email.