Eight months after staff at an Inuvik hotel discovered a box filled with thousands of dollars worth of cocaine, the SA国际影视传媒渢rustedSA国际影视传媒� courier who left it there was handed a 40 month prison sentence.
Thirty-six-year-old Shane Comeau of Inuvik was sentenced on July 23 in NWT Supreme Court after being convicted on one count of possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
Comeau, representing himself after he told the court two lawyers had SA国际影视传媒渜uit on him,SA国际影视传媒� was convicted by Deputy Judge Virginia Schuler after pleading guilty to the charge SA国际影视传媒� a decision he mulled for nearly half an hour as he sat, head hung, in the prisoner's booth.
In November of last year, the court heard through an agreed statement of facts, Comeau was seen inside InuvikSA国际影视传媒檚 Nova Inn carrying a cardboard box while talking on a cellphone. Hotel staff, who recognized Comeau, watched him set the package on a lobby table before leaving in a taxi.
Employees opened the box SA国际影视传媒� later seized by SA国际影视传媒� and discovered 15 bottles containing 584 pre-packaged doses of cocaine, amounting to 286 grams or 10 ounces at a street value of more than $40,000.
He was arrested the next month in Norman Wells.
Comeau was paid by a friend to deliver the drugs destined for Inuvik. In court, Comeau said he didnSA国际影视传媒檛 know exactly what was inside the box, but admitted he knew it contained an illicit substance.
Whether or not ComeauSA国际影视传媒檚 supplier was identified or charged was not addressed in court.
Comeau, who repeatedly lamented the deteriorating state of his mental health, asked the deputy judge for a sentence of 2.5 years SA国际影视传媒� a year less than what was proposed by Crown prosecutor Susanne Boucher.
Citing ComeauSA国际影视传媒檚 lengthy criminal record, which includes two trafficking convictions SA国际影视传媒� the latest of which earned him a 22 month sentence in 2015 SA国际影视传媒� Boucher said 3.5 years would be an appropriate sentence.
Sentencing Comeau to 40 months, Schuler said her decision was shaped by his criminal record and quantity of cocaine seized, an amount she said would only be placed in the hands of a SA国际影视传媒渢rustedSA国际影视传媒� transporter.
SA国际影视传媒�With crimes of this nature, society is the victim,SA国际影视传媒� said Schuler.
Comeau, who expressed anxiety about doing federal time in an Alberta prison following the decision, apologized for the SA国际影视传媒渄umbest mistakeSA国际影视传媒� heSA国际影视传媒檇 made in his life and told the court he wanted to change his life and be a father to his young son.
With credit for time served in pre-trial custody at North Slave Correctional Complex, Comeau will spend 29 months behind bars. He must also submit his a DNA sample and is barred from possessing firearms for 10 years following his release.
