A Leeds County Ontario Provincial Police officer will face a sentencing hearing on June 4 after pleading guilty to theft, drug and firearms charges in January.

Despite the fact that George Duke, a 20-year veteran of the force, was charged with the offences in October of 2015, he continued to collect his $100,000-a-year-plus salary in 2017, according to the Ontario government’s Sunshine List, released last week.

The list shows that Duke, described as “law enforcement officer with Community Safety and Correctional Services,” was paid $102,945 in 2017.

Duke made the same list in 2016, being paid $107,857, while on suspension from the force.

At the June 4 hearing, the Crown and Duke’s lawyer will make submissions on what the constable’s sentence should be.

Duke pleaded guilty to six charges, including the theft of more than $5,000, which was the property of the OPP, and one charge of breach of trust in connection with the theft.

He pleaded guilty to two firearms-related charges: The careless storage of a .22-calibre rifle and the careless storage of ammunition of four different calibres.

Duke also pleaded guilty to two counts of drug possession: One for methamphetamine and another for oxycodone.

All of the charges date back to October 31, 2015 when Duke was arrested as part of Project Arrowtown, an 18-month investigation into alleged criminal activity by police officers in Leeds County.

The OPP’s organized crime enforcement and professional standards bureaus, with the help of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, OPP Emergency Response Team and the Montreal police force, conducted Project Arrowtown, which was launched in May 2014 and resulted in the execution of seven search warrants.

The six charges are not Duke’s only brush with the law. In September, he pleaded guilty to assaulting an elderly man during a routine traffic stop.

That incident, involving a 78-year-old Montreal man, occurred just two months before his Project Arrowtown arrests.

Duke was fined $500 on the assault charge.


Source:
http://www.recorder.ca/2018/03/30/sentencing-set-for-leeds-opp-cop