Two year sentence for drug trafficking

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on September 8, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

The matter of one of two brothers sentenced to federal prison terms for unrelated offences was in Lethbridge provincial court Wednesday.

Tresor Nkuba, 28, was sentenced in July in Lethbridge provincial court to two years in a federal prison after he pleaded guilty to robbery, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, and failure to comply with a probation order. His 27-year-old brother, Gloire Nkuba, was also sentenced to two years in a federal penitentiary, after he pleaded guilty to two charges of drug trafficking, and single charges of escaping lawful custody, resisting a peace officer, assault and breaching release conditions.

Lethbridge lawyer Greg White appeared as agent for Marcus Mueller to ask for an adjournment to Sept. 28 as defence is trying to acquire some documents through a FOIP request.

In July, Mueller asked the judge to recommend the brothers serve their sentences at the same institution, and explained Tresor, who is an alcoholic, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and mental health issues, and relies on his brother for help.

Tresor’s charges stem from an incident that took place over the July long-weekend when he entered a liquor store on 5 Street South, hid a bottle of rum in his pants then attempted to pay for a second bottle. The clerk confronted him about the other bottle, and Tresor pulled out a corkscrew and swung it at two employees then fled with the bottle.

“One of the employees actually followed Mr. Nkuba, taking pictures of him, and once Mr. Nkuba got to the courthouse here, he started to drink from the bottle of rum,” Crown Prosecutor Michael Fox explained.

Pictures of Tresor holding the corkscrew in his right hand while drinking from the bottle in his left hand were provided to the police.

At the time of the robbery Tresor was on probation that prohibited him from possessing any weapons when outside of his residence.

“So the breach of probation is in relation to using the corkscrew as a weapon,” Fox said.

Gloire’s charges stem from several incidents earlier this year and in 2019.

On Feb. 9, 2019 Lethbridge police responded to a disturbance at a basement suite on the westside. A woman told police a party had gotten out of hand, and after some discussion police suggested they “call it a night” and keep the noise down. As officers prepared to leave Gloire, who was the woman’s roommate, entered the residence and police discovered he was wanted on several warrants. He was arrested and placed in handcuffs, but as police escorted him to their vehicle, Gloire slipped on some ice, broke free from the officer, and fled down the alley.

Three officers chased Gloire and eventually tackled him, but he continued to struggle and had to be kneed in the chest. Gloire continued to be combative, however, and after he refused an order to get on the ground and approached an officer threateningly, he was tasered, but with limited effect because of the close range, Crown Prosecutor James Rouleau told court.

Gloire took off again but was caught after a brief chase and held at Taser point until another officer arrived to help.

Several months later, on Sept. 7, 2019, police received a tip through Crime Stoppers that cocaine was being sold from a nightclub in the 1200 block of 1 Avenue South. An undercover officer went to the club and asked a man where she could buy some cocaine. She was directed to Gloire and the two of them went outside where she bought two grams of cocaine for $200. Only minutes later another undercover officer went to the club and he and Gloire drove to a parking lot where the officer bought one gram of cocaine for $100.

On March 22 of this year Gloire was on release on an unrelated matter, the conditions of which included a requirement he report to a probation officer. He never reported and never replied to repeated attempts by probation to contact him.

The following month, on April 6, police responded to a domestic dispute at a residence on Columbia Blvd West, during which Gloire had punched a woman in the face and body. She sustained a cut lip and bruises under one eye. When police arrived they saw the woman trying to get away from two men, Tresor and Gloire Nkuba.

Lethbridge lawyer Marcus Mueller told court the brothers are from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and are refugees from the Second Congo War, during which they hid in villages and in the bush before ending up in Ugandan refugee camps.

“He has memories at a very young age of seeing his cousin shot…while they were fleeing Rwandan rebels,” Mueller said of Gloire.

Mueller asked the judge to recommend the brothers serve their sentence at the same prison, and noted federal institutions provide “superior” programs to help inmates.

Judge John Maher agreed with the request, and encouraged Gloire to stay out of trouble in the future.

“I wish you luck Mr. Nkuba. Life’s a lot easier if you obey the law.”

– with files from Delon Shurtz

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