Whitehorse Daily Star

Intermittent sentence given for cocaine possession

A Whitehorse family man and entrepreneur was given a 30-day intermittent sentence Friday for possessing cocaine.

By Rhiannon Russell on September 29, 2014

A Whitehorse family man and entrepreneur was given a 30-day intermittent sentence Friday for possessing cocaine.

Bart Butler, 55, will spend weekends at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre (WCC), allowing him to spend time with his son, care for his elderly parents, and run his drywall business during the week.

Defence lawyer David Christie told the court his client has struggled with alcohol and drug addiction in the past, but was sober for 3 1/2 years when he was caught by police with a small amount of cocaine earlier this year.

“This was a mistake, obviously,” Christie said. “It was a slip.”

Last April, Whitehorse RCMP were surveilling a vehicle outside the 98 Hotel and witnessed four drug transactions take place involving a male passenger and female driver.

The vehicle was later pulled over by police, and the male passenger, Butler, attempted to wipe powdered cocaine off the console. He and the driver were arrested.

When police searched him, they found a bottle containing 39 codeine pills. The name on the prescription label wasn’t Butler’s nor the woman’s.

At the RCMP detachment, Butler dropped a foil-wrapped object on the ground. It was 0.41 grams of crack cocaine. He was charged with possession and released on a recognizance.

Butler has a lengthy criminal record, indicative of drug and alcohol issues, said Crown prosecutor Joanna Phillips.

He has two trafficking convictions from 1997, and several impaired-driving convictions. For one of the latter, he spent a year in a federal penitentiary in B.C. in 2010.

“That was a major turning point for him,” Christie said. Butler completed his parole with no violations, and voluntarily entered a treatment centre upon his release.

He pointed out his client had a four-year gap in his record.

Butler’s Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor was present in court Friday, and said the man has been attending three to four meetings a week since he was arrested. He’s been sober since falling off the wagon last spring.

“I’m honest when I say Bart’s a good man,” his sponsor said. “He’s really a hard-working man.”

He said Butler built his company from the ground up, and during peak periods, has 20 employees. He also loves spending time with his son, he said, adding he’s a real family man.

“It appears he has made some very positive steps since (the offence),” Judge Peter Chisholm said.

“One could describe him as back to being a productive member of society.”

He ruled an intermittent sentence was appropriate.

Butler will spend consecutive weekends, from 7 p.m Friday to 7 a.m. Monday, in jail.

He is not to drink any alcohol in the 48 hours leading up to his entry to WCC.

Comments (1)

Up 5 Down 6

Salar on Sep 30, 2014 at 11:32 am

Poor bastard......he still has to do time even though most of the folks charged with the same offence in the Yukon get a slap on the wrist and compensation for the undue hardship.....
I wish you the best in your recovery

Add your comments or reply via Twitter @whitehorsestar

In order to encourage thoughtful and responsible discussion, website comments will not be visible until a moderator approves them. Please add comments judiciously and refrain from maligning any individual or institution. Read about our user comment and privacy policies.

Your name and email address are required before your comment is posted. Otherwise, your comment will not be posted.