Two men entered guilty pleas in territorial court this morning to producing marijuana as the trial over several grow operations in the city resumed.

Guang Xian Zhu enter the guilty plea and received a sentence of six months less a day in jail to be followed by 18 months' probation.

Defence lawyer Gord Coffin entered a guilty plea on behalf of his client, Kwok Yiu Cheung, with his sentencing booked for May 22.

Both men were each charged with six counts of producing marijuana, possession of marijuana and stealing electricity.

Crown prosecutors also opted to not bring forward any evidence against Kiu Tin Yeung, Jian Xiong Zhou, Min Shan Jiang and Wei Xiong Wen, who are facing the same charges.

Another man, Wei Min Zhai, will have his case heard tomorrow.

The trial resumed close to a month after Judge Karen Ruddy ruled there were a number of Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms breaches in the case which saw RCMP search and seize equipment and marijuana from grow operations in houses around Copper Ridge in 2005.

The Charter breaches were the subject of a voir dire (trial within a trial) last October.

Following this morning's sentencing hearing for Zhu, Crown prosecutors Noel Sinclair and Ludovic Gouallier said they opted not to call evidence on the four cases because of Ruddy's earlier ruling.

The charges were not stayed or withdrawn, which permits the Crown to appeal the matter and bring them forward at a later date, Sinclair explained.

Right now though, the two Crown prosecutors are focusing on the cases that are proceeding, they stressed.

This morning saw a joint submission come forward by Sinclair and Zhu's defence lawyer, Mitch Foster.

In an agreed statement of facts presented by Sinclair, the court heard of the RCMP's 2005 investigation into several suspected grow operations in Whitehorse.

Based on information as the investigation continued into 22 Tigereye Cres., among other properties, police acquired a search warrant for a home that was executed at 4:55 p.m. on Sept. 22, 2005, the court heard.

There was a grow operation discovered in the house with several plants growing in the basement, an electrical diversion and numerous other grow operation supplies throughout the house.

Among the items seized by police were 711 plants, 33 1,000-watt lamps, an electrical timer for the lights, fans, air filters, potting soil and several other items.

The equipment is estimated at a value of more than $115,000, with the potential pot value at between $230,000 and $530,000, depending on how it was sold, Sinclair said.

Inside the house, Zhu was arrested along with another man.

The house had been sold on Dec. 24, 2004 with the current owners renting it out and not checking on it since, it was noted.

Both lawyers brought forward a number of cases showing a range of sentences for grow operation involvement.

In this case, it was noted, a sentence of six months or longer may have significant impacts on Zhu, a permanent resident originally from China, due to a portion of the Immigration Act which sees those who are sentenced for more than six months potentially deported.

In proposing the sentence, Sinclair noted that among the aggravating factors of the case are the large scale of the operation and the electrical diversion.

However, in the mitigating features of the case, Sinclair pointed out Zhu has no prior record, and has accepted responsibility for his involvement essentially as a gardener for the grow-op.

In his submissions, Foster described Zhu as perhaps a 'bit of a dupe' in the matter.

Zhu, who moved to Canada in 2004 with his wife, came up from Vancouver to work in Whitehorse with his uncle. He was working two jobs as kitchen help and doing renovations when someone approached him about making some extra money to look after plants.

It wasn't too many months before that he had never seen marijuana and he likely didn't realize the seriousness of it or give the legal implications much thought.

'He was certainly wet behind the ears,' Foster said.

Every few days, Zhu would go water the plants when he was asked to. He had been working at it for about a month when police executed the search warrant.

Sinclair argued for a community work service term to be included in the probation order as a deterrence. Foster suggested the six-month jail term should be enough of a deterrent and that his client should focus his attention on getting on with his life following his jail term.

Ruddy, however, sided with Sinclair. She noted it's appropriate to bring home the seriousness of the crime. She ordered he serve 100 hours' community service in the first 12 months of his 18-month probation order.

He will also be required to keep the peace, report to his probation officer, seek employment, and abstain from alcohol and non-prescribed drugs.

That will follow his jail term of six months less a day.

The trial will resume tomorrow.