Apohaqui man pleads guilty prior to trial

Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

2 Comment(s)

Enlarge Photo

SUSSEX Despite receiving his second six-year sentence on drug charges, George Burton Moore is still a much loved man.

Doug Miller, who said he has lived beside Moore for 15 years, came to Sussex Provincial Court June 19 to learn the fate of his 61-year-old friend. Moore, a butcher in Apohaqui, was scheduled to go to trial on seven charges, several of which were possession of various drugs for the purpose of trafficking.

Instead, Miller listened from the gallery as Moore pleaded guilty to five charges and was sentenced to another six years in prison. The charges were possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine and OxyContin, Ecstasy, marijuana along with separate charges of possessing unmarked and unpackaged tobacco.

"I just hate to see him up there because he's a good neighbour," Miller said sounding somewhat emotional. "I'd just love to see him come home. I think everybody misses him."

Asked if he thought the community would forgive Moore a second time, Miller felt confident it would be water under the bridge.

"I hope so. I know I would," he said.

RCMP officers raided Moore's butcher shop at 42 George Street Nov. 30. An undercover officer pretended to want to buy firewood and when the two crossed the street from Moore's residence to the shop where the wood was stacked, Moore was placed under arrest.

Moore told police initially there wouldn't be anything they were looking for in his shop but a police dog proved otherwise.

Inside the shop and behind it in a warehouse, police found 7.1 ounces of cocaine, 196 OxyContin pills, 241 Ecstasy pills, a quantity of marijuana and 350 cartons of cigarettes.

The drugs, already weighed and packaged for sale, were hidden inside juice or soup containers while several cardboard boxes were used to keep the unmarked, unstamped tobacco.

A report, prepared by an expert and submitted to the court by Crown prosecutor Gerald McCracken, suggested the street value for the cocaine, which tested 88 per cent pure, could have been as much as $19,600. Judge Henrik Tonning, the Crown and the defense all agreed it was unlikely Moore would have received that much for it though.

The OxyContin had an estimated street value between $4,600-$6,600, the Ecstasy between $1,200-$4,800 and the cigarettes were valued at $7,500-$8,000.

"He's made a terrible mistake in judgment," Moore's attorney Robert Digdon told the court.

Moore's second six-year sentence came less than two months before his first would have expired.

In 2002, Moore pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine and hashish, possessing property obtained by crime and possessing marijuana and cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. He received a six-year sentence for his crimes but thanks to accelerated parole, Moore served only one-sixth (one year) of his sentence in prison, followed by one year in a halfway house on day parole.

After his arrest Moore told the National Parole Board he felt pressure to return to a life of crime, to which Digdon also cryptically referred during court.

"According to police information, and confirmed by your own admission, you have once again resorted to criminal activity, which is almost identical to the crimes for which you are currently serving your sentence," the NPB report said. "You describe your actions as a response to coercion/threats to pay your debts and you felt you had few options....Your association with those in the drug business has compromised your success on release, and increased your risk."

The NPB formally revoked Moore's parole March 5 after suspending it following his arrest.

While confused as to why Moore would ever get back into the drug trade, Tonning was blunt in his analysis of the situation and the help Moore needs to move on from his criminal past.

"He needs a course in how to avoid bad guys," he said.

Moore has also been banned from possessing firearms, ammunition or explosives for the rest of his life.

Moore will not be granted the accelerated parole he got last time around, meaning he must now serve a minimum of 18 months in prison and six months of day parole before being released.

"There's no chance [of accelerated parole]," said Brian Chase of the NPB. "It's a one time thing for first time offenders serving time for a non-violent offense, and he's not a first time federal offender."

But whether Moore will be back home after serving the mandatory one third (two years) of his six year sentence is in doubt.

"Given his history, when the [parole] board meets to consider his case, they'll ask if there have been signs of change in his attitude and behaviour," said Chase. "What has changed? It's not as clear cut this time. You have to demonstrate you've made changes."

Having slipped back into the same criminal lifestyle clearly hurts Moore's chances of parole after two years, said Chase.