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Organized crime trial postponed in P.A. court

Shania Yooya's trial has been rescheduled to June 2022

PRINCE ALBERT - A jury trial for a woman charged with organized crime offences has been delayed for nine months at the defence’s request.

The jury trial for Shania Yooya, 24, from Sturgeon Lake First Nation was scheduled to start Sept. 7 in Prince Albert Court of Queen’s Bench.

Yooya, and 28-year-old Jesse Dillon from Onion Lake Cree Nation were arrested last year following an RCMP Crime Reduction Team (gang unit) investigation starting in 2019 into organized criminal activities in Prince Albert and area.

On Feb. 12, 2020, police raided a home on Sturgeon Lake First Nation and seized a sawed-off shotgun, ammunition, a replica handgun, a spear gun and a quantity of suspected opioids.

Yooya was charged with trafficking a controlled substance for a criminal organization, uttering threats for a criminal organization, and conspiracy to commit assault for a criminal organization.

Dillon was charged with recruiting for a criminal organization, trafficking a controlled substance for a criminal organization, uttering threats for a criminal organization, and conspiracy to commit assault for a criminal organization. He appears next in Prince Albert Court of Queen’s Bench on Sept. 29.

Yooya’s trial has been rescheduled to June 2022.