Former Chief of the Key First Nation sentenced for trafficking morphine
Sitting in the defendant's box, the former Chief of the Key First Nation, Clarence Papequash, didn't show any emotion as he was sentenced Friday morning for trafficking morphine.
Papequash, 61, was given a six-month conditional sentence, six weeks of which he will be under house arrest. He will have to pay a $300 victim surcharge and submit to a DNA order. He will also have to comply with several conditions including living at an approved residence, and not possessing or consuming any drugs or alcohol.
He was arrested in 2011 for facilitating the sale of half a morphine pill from his wife to an undercover RCMP officer. In a separate hearing, his wife pleaded guilty and was given a three-month jail sentence.
In explaining her sentence, Justice Jennifer Pritchard said that Papequash was Chief of the Key First Nation at the time and is also an addictions counsellor which makes the offense much worse. She said “he should have known better.”