SASKATCHEWAN – A woman who helped a high-ranking Westside Outlawz street gang member from Onion Lake Cree Nation run his drug business from behind bars has been arrested on new charges, and was granted bail Wednesday.
On Feb. 28, 2023, Shania Yooya, now 28, was sentenced on a charge of trafficking drugs for a criminal organization. The Saskatchewan court handed her a one-year conditional jail sentence, followed by probation.
On April 17, Yooya made her first appearance on a new charge of possession of property obtained by crime and was remanded in custody. On May 1, she made her first appearance on an assault charge. On May 8, she made her first appearance for failing to comply with an undertaking and mischief.
Last year, court heard that Yooya helped high-ranking Westside Outlawz street gang member Jesse Eric Dillon run his major drug trafficking operation while behind bars in Prince Albert. He would not have been able to run his drug business from behind bars without Yooya’s help. He told Yooya where to go, what to do, the quality of the drugs, had her collect debts, and threaten people. Dillon was in daily contact with Yooya and was able to call her more than 800 times by using other inmate’s phone time. His position within the street gang allowed him to do that, court heard.
The charges that Yooya was sentenced on in February 2023, stemmed from April 2020 following a lengthy investigation by the RCMP gang unit into organized crime in Prince Albert and several communities in the area. The RCMP Prince Albert Crime Reduction Team was assisted by officers from the Prince Albert RCMP Detachment, Prince Albert Police Service and Saskatoon Police Service.
At the time, Yooya was initially charged with uttering threats in association with, for the benefit of or at the direction of a criminal organization, trafficking a controlled substance in association with, for the benefit of or at the direction of a criminal organization, conspiracy to commit assault in association with, for the benefit of or at the direction of a criminal organization, unsafe storage of a firearm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of a restricted firearm with ammunition without a license, possession of a firearm with a tampered serial number, trafficking methamphetamine, obstruction of justice, and fabricating evidence.
Dillon is back behind bars after the Meadow Lake RCMP Crime Reduction Team arrested him on Big Island Lake Cree Nation on May 28. Dillon was inadvertently released from court in Lloydminster, Sask., earlier this month. Court documents show that the Crown prosecutor had consented to his release. He appears in Meadow Lake Provincial court on May 30.
Court documents also show that Onion Lake RCMP charged Dillon on Feb. 6, 2023, with using a shotgun to rob a man for the benefit of the Westside Outlawz street gang. Dillon is also charged with having an imitation handgun on him at the time of the robbery.
Terrance Stonechild is the "king" of Westside Outlawz, which had its origins on Onion Lake Cree Nation.
