The accused, Miguel Orlando Zavala-Martinez, was convicted by a jury of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
At sentencing, the defence sought a stay of proceedings or a reduced sentence, arguing police misconduct in obtaining the search warrant constituted Charter violations (ss. 8 and 9) and an abuse of process.
The court found that the affiant police officer failed to be full, frank, and fair in drafting the Information to Obtain (ITO) a search warrant, leading to an infringement of the accused's Charter rights.
While the court declined to grant a stay of proceedings, it considered the state misconduct and the accused's personal circumstances (age, lack of criminal record, medical conditions, family responsibilities) as significant mitigating factors.
The court imposed a suspended sentence with a three-month probationary period, a ten-year weapons prohibition, and a DNA order, departing from the typical custodial range for such an offence.