A 22-year-old B.C. man pleaded guilty to a series of violent and drug-related charges Monday in Yukon Supreme Court .

Ricco Zanolli has admitted to a string of charges from both the Yukon and Newfoundland.

They include drug trafficking, working for a criminal organization, money laundering, intentionally and carelessly discharging a firearm, extortion, assault with a weapon causing bodily harm, and arson.

He was scheduled to be sentenced by Supreme Court Justice Ron Veale this afternoon. Lawyers representing both the prosecution and defence have recommended a sentence of 10 years in prison.

Zanolli arrived in Whitehorse just before Christmas 2009. Prosecutors say he had come to collect on outstanding drug debts.

Before the RCMP's emergency response team arrested Zanolli on Boxing Day of that year, one man had been shot in the arm, a second had been beaten and Zanolli was $11,000 richer.

Prosecutor David McWhinnie told the court Monday that after arriving in Whitehorse, Zanolli was unable to find the person who he believed owed money.

He then proceeded to threaten the man's roommate with a gun, telling him he was now responsible for repaying the debt.

After weeks of threats, the roommate paid $11,000.

Even after being paid, Zanolli has admitted to attacking the man on Boxing Day, beating him with a roll of duct tape and a knife.

That was not the only altercation Zanolli was involved in during his visit to the territory.

He has admitted to shooting at a man two days earlier after the pair had argued.

Zanolli is prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm following a separate drug conviction in B.C. in 2008.

The man, who claimed he didn't know Zanolli, was struck in the arm and wounded.

The RCMP's emergency response team arrested Zanolli hours after the Boxing Day attack near Policeman's Point on Lake Laberge.

Weeks after his arrest, Zanolli was charged by Newfoundland police with trafficking in cocaine and money laundering, as well as working for a criminal organization.

These charges were part of a cross-Canada drug-smuggling bust that led to 11 arrests and involved kilos of cocaine and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

McWhinnie described Zanolli as a mule for the Newfoundland group, involved in transporting money. He said the man's visit to the territory in 2009 appears to have been unrelated to that group.

Zanolli has spent the last two years bouncing between jails in both jurisdictions, often without a lawyer.

His time in Whitehorse custody has not been without incident.

Weeks after arriving at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre, Zanolli was charged with making threats against corrections officers and setting fire to his cell.

After getting into an argument with guards over wearing a shirt, Zanolli became angry. He refused to leave his cell and eventually had to be pepper-sprayed, McWhinnie said.

During the scuffle, Zanolli happened to be struck in the face.

At this point, he threatened to stab whoever had unintentionally hit him and offered a $2,000 reward to anyone who told him which guard it was, McWhinnie said.

The arson charge stems from an incident four days later, when Zanolli lit his clothes on fire in his cell's sink.

Zanolli, who was quiet for most of the hearing, admitted to both allegations but told the judge he started the fire after he was denied a chance to call a lawyer.

Prosecutors in both jurisdictions have agreed to have all the charges dealt with in Whitehorse.

Zanolli will go to a federal penitentiary if the judge accepts a joint submission presented Monday.

The lawyers are asking for a 10-year sentence – five years for the charges in Newfoundland and another five years for the offences he committed in Whitehorse.

After taking into account the time Zanolli has already spent in custody, his sentence could end up being six years.