THUNDER BAY - A 17-year-old boy from southern Ontario who pleaded guilty to one count of possession of proceeds of crime exceeding more than $5,000 was sentenced on Wednesday in a Thunder Bay courtroom.
The GTA teenager who cannot be identified will spend an additional 12 days in secure custody to be followed by six days of community supervision. He will also be placed on a two-year probation order which will require him to stay away from weapons, drugs and remain outside of the district of Thunder Bay.
The teenager was arrested on May 24 after a man called Thunder Bay police stating there was a group of unwanted individuals in his apartment, according to Federal crown prosecutor Ron Poirier.
“Police attended and they located seven individuals one of which was the accused,” Poirier said.
In plain view, officers saw what they believed to be was a bag of crack cocaine which weighed at approximately 74 grams. Police also found cash in various locations throughout the residence.
“This clearly was currency that had been generated through the sale of drugs,” Poirier said, adding the total amount of cash seized amounted to more than $10,000 in Canadian currency and $20 in U.S. cash.
“It’s the Crown’s position that the accused was a party to generating those monies,” he said.
The teen’s lawyer, Tyler Hopkins, told the court his client plans to go back to school in the fall to finish his education and acknowledges the bad choices he has made in connection to this case.
“He is looking at making more positive choices in the future and this experience has shown him that he only gets one chance at life and he can’t undo anything,” Hopkins said.
Judge Elaine Burton emphasized to the teen the seriousness of the activity he was involved in when he was arrested on May 24.
“It sounds like other people are taking responsibility for the drugs which is good for you, but this is a very dangerous game getting mixed up with this kind of activity,” Burton said, suggesting to the teen to focus on his education going forward.
The judge also ordered a mandatory weapons probation for the teen for a period of two years. Part of his probation requires the young offender to have no contact with any of his co-accused.
The teen's other charges were withdrawn. All of the cash, drugs and drug paraphernalia seized by police was ordered to be forfeited to the Crown.
