Crack seller gets 22 months for his crime

By Peggy Revell on July 21, 2017.

prevell@medicinehatnews.com @MHNprevell

A 22-month jail sentence was handed down Thursday to a man who pled guilty to trafficking crack cocaine earlier this year.

Angol Koro has 13 months to serve of this sentence, due to time spent in pretrial custody.

Koro was arrested following an investigation by police in Medicine Hat in January, where they contacted a cellphone number and twice arranged the purchase of a total of 3.01 grams of crack cocaine from Koro.

Also arrested as part of this investigation were Kalab Wolde, Kunyak Bichiok and David Pach. Wolde pled guilty to 23 months in jail earlier this month, while a preliminary hearing date for Bichiok and Pach is set for Dec. 19.

Koro has a self-admitted drinking problem, and sold drugs to purchase the alcohol for this alcoholism, said defence counsel Stephen Bitzer.

The 41-year-old man is a permanent resident of Canada, having come to Canada from South Sudan, by way of Egypt. His defence lawyer noted that the man’s earlier life was not good.

“I’m guilty of what I’ve done. I’m taking responsibility,” said Koro, speaking through a translator, saying that him being a drunkard is what put him into this situation. “What the court has decided for me is just, and I will accept it.”

Koro has also wanted to plead guilty from early on, Bitzer noted, and has plans to follow up with treatment for his addiction. While Koro does have a criminal record, it’s not related to narcotics.

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