Key First Nation band councillor enters guilty plea on drug charges

One of 24 people charged in an alleged prescription drug trafficking ring in the Yorkton-Kamsack area is fessing up.

Gerald Papequash, a band councillor on the Key First Nation, pleaded guilty to seven charges in Yorkton court on Friday. The 52-year-old will serve 16 months in jail and a year on probation after that.

“Mr. Papequash is addicted to prescription drugs,” said his lawyer, Thomas Campbell. “He got addicted because he's been suffering from rheumatoid arthritis for many years.

“I think the Crown, in all fairness, recognized that he's not a member of any kind of organized crime group. He's a man with an addiction problem.”

Campbell says his client will seek treatment and counseling both while in jail and afterward while on probation.

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The councilor's brother, Clarence Papequash, is the chief of the reserve. He is also facing charges in the case.

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