Suspended Key councillor sentenced for possession of codeine for the purpose of trafficking

RCMP logo. File photo.

Suspended Key First Nation councillor Clarence Papequash received a one-year prison sentence for possession of codeine and prohibited ammunition.

The Monday sentencing in Yorkton court came after Papequash, 64, entered guilty pleas in March for possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of ammunition while prohibited, with a number of other charges withdrawn.

Those charges date back to February when Mounties executed a search warrant at his home on reserve. At the time, Kamsack RCMP said seized pills and shotgun shells, among other items – including Papequash’s vehicle.

When that news was released on Feb. 15, current Key Chief Rodney Brass said Papequash was suspended effective immediately.

This is not the first time Papequash has been charged with drug trafficking while in office on Key, but his last sentence did not involve jail time.

In 2014 he was chief, but was forced to resign when he entered a guilty plea in connection with a prescription drug ring on the reserve that dated back to selling half a morphine pill to a man working for the RCMP in 2010.

For that, Papequash received a six-month conditional sentence.

He is to be on two years of probation once released from jail.

It’s unknown what the band has planned for Papequash’s elected position, and Brass was not available for comment on Monday afternoon.