An Edmonton man accused of playing a leading role in a cocaine ring that set up shop in Yellowknife two years ago has been acquitted following a decision in NWT territorial court Thursday.
Shermarke Abdi, 25, was charged with possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, possessing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and possessing the of proceeds of crime.
Abdi, along with Quinn Beaver, 21, Ambrose Jobin, 59, and a youth, was charged after Yellowknife RCMP executed a search warrant a Hamilton Drive home in March 2016.
Inside the residence, officers located Abdi and the youth, who can't be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, sitting on a futon.
Underneath, officers discovered 92.1 grams of cocaine, wrapped in 446 individual pieces. Marijuana – 982.4 grams worth – and $7,680 were also seized.
Due to Abdi's close proximity to the large haul of drugs and cash, the Crown argued he was a trusted “foodboss,” within the operation – a high-ranking member who supplied “runners” with drugs to sell on the street.
But in handing down her decision Thursday, deputy judge Virginia Schuler said the Crown couldn't prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Abdi himself was in control of the drugs.
Schuler said the Crown's only evidence linking Abdi to the trafficking of cocaine and marijuana was the fact the he was simply in the same room as where the drugs were found.
For Schuler, that wasn't enough to convict Abdi. He was acquitted on all charges.
A Somalian refugee who settled in Edmonton in 2013, Abdi took the stand to testify Wednesday – day two of the judge-alone trial. He told the court Beaver and Jobin had invited him to come along with them to Yellowknife.
Abdi maintained he didn't know what the nature of the trip was all about, but admitted he later learned the house he moved into in Yellowknife was being used to traffic drugs.
But, ultimately, Schuler ruled their wasn't enough evidence to support the Crown's claim.
Jobin, of Yellowknife, pleaded out in territorial court and Beaver waived his charges to Alberta, where he'll also plead out.
Lack of evidence, post-incident conduct focus at sex assault trial
The emotionally-charged trial of a Yellowknife man accused of sexually assaulting a sleeping woman after a day of drinking heard closing submissions from the Crown and the defence Thursday afternoon.
Elvis Blackduck, 49, is charged with sexual assault and uttering threats to cause death. The charges, which Blackduck pleaded not guilty to, stem from an incident that's alleged to have taken place in October at a Norseman apartment unit in downtown Yellowknife.
On Wednesday – day one of the judge-alone trial overseen by Judge Garth Malakoe – a woman, the complaint against the accused, took the stand to testify she'd been sexually assaulted by Blackduck.
“I know he raped me,” she said.
Sitting behind a screen that prevented her from seeing the accused, who sat nearby, head hung, listening to a translator, the woman fought back tears as she recounted the alleged events.
She testified that after drinking at Blackduck’s apartment with another woman, she passed out on a couch. When she awoke, the complainant said, she was lying on a mattress, her pants and underwear pulled down to her knees.
“I felt dirty,” she said, adding her body was sore and she had bruises of her wrists.
The woman testified she asked the accused, “why did you do this to me? before telling him she'd get guys on the street to beat him up. That's when, she said, Blackduck told her he’d kill her if she told anyone about what happened, and that if he were sent to jail for it, he’d kill her once he’s released.
The woman also said Blackduck contacted her after she reported the alleged incident to police. She testified he told her not go attend court, but she that she didn’t listen.
“I’m not going to give up after what he did to me. If I didn’t do that, he might do the same to somebody else.”
The woman told the court she was scared and nervous and left the apartment. Police were called, and Blackduck was arrested. The woman received medical treatment. Potential witnesses weren't located by police.
Vaginal and anal swabs were tested but didn't yield any male DNA.
The woman's clothes were seized by an RCMP, who testified during the trial, but they weren't tested for DNA.
The court heard the results didn’t yield any male DNA. Crown prosecutor Martha Chertknow noted semen wasn't tested for, but Blackduck's lawyer, Peter Harte, said if they didn't find male DNA, they wouldn't find semen.
With no male DNA linking Blackduck to the alleged incident, Harte said its absence compounded the lack of evidence to corroborate the complainant's claims.
Harte zeroed in on inconsistencies between her testimony and the statement she gave to police. He suggested the allegations were concocted by the complainant who was angry after an argument over alcohol between her and Blackduck ensued.
The woman adamantly denied she fabricated the allegations.
Submitting her closing arguments Thursday, Chertknow, who relied on circumstantial evidence during the trial, focused on the “stark” post-offence conduct of Blackduck. She said his alleged threat to “kill” the woman, combined with him telling her to leave his apartment and later making an intimidating phone call, are the actions of someone with “a guilty mind.”
But Malakoe said the inconsistencies presented during the woman's testimony put in a difficult position, “where there's inconsistencies with nothing to corroborate them with.”
Blackduck will learn whether he'll be convicted of the serious alleged crimes when Malakoe makes his decision today.