Alleged 856 gang member faces prison sentence for drug trafficking
Joshua Petten was charged less than 2 months after release from prison for handgun conviction
An alleged member of the 856 gang in Yellowknife may face years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of trafficking crack cocaine.
Crown lawyer Annie Piché asked for a prison term of four to four and a half years during Joshua Petten's sentencing hearing Friday, arguing Petten is a member of B.C.'s 856 gang, and he was supplying street level drug dealers in Yellowknife.
Piché said any sentencing consideration for the guilty plea should be limited as Petten still doesn't admit he's part of the gang. She said Petten's loyalty is to the gang above anything else.
In 2014, Petten was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for illegal possession of a loaded handgun outside a Yellowknife bar. He was released into his home community in B.C. on May 20, 2015.
Two weeks later, he was back in Yellowknife. On July 16, he was arrested for drug trafficking.
"There is no great hope for rehabilitation of Mr. Petten," said Piché.
Petten's lawyer Caroline Wawzonek is asking for a three-and-a-half year sentence, minus six months because Petten pleaded guilty.
Wawzonek told the judge there is another side to Petten; that Petten's father says he is gentle, loving, and kind with children and animals.
When the judge asked Petten if he had anything to say, he said "No."
Justice Bernadette Schmaltz will announce her decision on April 15.