Drug buyers kept calling offender

A Whitehorse man has been sentenced to 45 months in a federal prison for drug charges.

A Whitehorse man has been sentenced to 45 months in a federal prison for drug charges.

Characterized in court as a mid-level drug trafficker, Christopher Brisson pleaded guilty Tuesday to four charges. They included two counts of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

The 23-year-old first came to the attention of the RCMP in early 2012 after multiple informants told police he was selling cocaine, the territorial court heard.

On Feb. 1, 2012, he was arrested in the parking lot of a downtown hotel.

Police found him with $540 in cash, 20 baggies with half a gram each of cocaine and one baggie with 1/8 of an ounce of the drug.

He also had a knife and two cell phones that were “incessantly ringing,” said prosecutor Jennifer Grandy.

When police answered the phone, they found people asking for “Chris” and placing what appeared to be coded orders for drugs, the court heard.

When police searched Brisson’s home, they found 120 grams of cocaine, packaging materials, a cutting agent, $1,135 in cash and a debt list.

They also found a loaded 40-calibre Smith and Wesson handgun and ammunition.

Brisson was arrested and released on bail the next day.

After he was freed, the RCMP received more confidential information about cocaine sales.

Police rearrested Brisson last July, this time after he was caught driving the car for a person who they say had just made a drug sale to an undercover officer.

Eleven grams of cocaine were found in the car and another 80 grams at Brisson’s home, along with $6,200.

The value of the cocaine seized after that arrest was more than $10,000, the court heard.

Brisson, who had been living in Whitehorse since he was about 12 years old, has a severe learning disability which makes it difficult for him to read, write or hold down a job.

Since he’s been in jail, he has been getting help from a tutor, said his lawyer, Kim Hawkins.

In court Tuesday, Brisson’s father, Rock, asked the judge for leniency for his son.

In delivering his sentence, visiting judge Donald Luther acknowledged that this was Brisson’s first conviction, but said drug charges are serious enough to warrant incarceration in a federal prison.

Brisson will get no extra credit for the approximately six months he has spent behind bars since his second arrest.

He has about 39 months left in his sentence.