Alleged gangster Steven King, 40, was given a year's probation for a narcotic possession charge at Penticton Supreme Court today.
(SHANNON QUESNEL / iNFOnews.ca)
January 13, 2014 - 9:53 AM
PENTICTON - An alleged gangster will give a DNA sample to local police forces despite apparent animosity between him and the RCMP.
Steven King, 40, was in Penticton Supreme Court today to hear Justice Susan Griffin sentence him on a simple drug possession charge. He was given one year probation and he accepted an order to supply a DNA sample but he would rather have it done in Ontario, defence lawyer James Pennington said.
Griffin said no. She needed to give King a numbered address as soon as possible and she didn't know of any in Ontario. She ordered him to get it done locally.
"He's going to have to suck it up," she said.
King was also ordered to pay a $750 fine by July 15 and be outside of B.C. for the probationary period.
King's punishment meant he got to walk out of court. He originally faced the more serious charge of possession for the purpose of trafficking incurred during a 2010 police investigation.
Outside of court, Pennington said during King's trial, the justice "placed no weight on the experts' evidence."
"She said the amount of the drugs found... was in the realm of personal use," he said and King was found not guilty of possession for the purpose of trafficking. He was found guilty on the offense of simple possession however.
As for his client being a past or current member of an organized crime group, the Game Tight Soldiers gang, Pennington said these were rumours.
"That's what the police say. Gossip and innuendo," he said before adding "There are no gangs in Penticton."
To contact a reporter for this story, email Shannon Quesnel at squesnel@infotelnews.ca, call 250-488-3065 or tweet @InfoNewsPentict.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014