Angelo Musitano

The Ontario Review Board held an annual review of the disposition for an accused found not criminally responsible for arson.

The accused, who suffers from Parkinson's Disease and had experienced delirium, was living in an assisted living facility with 24/7 support.

The hospital and the Attorney General sought a conditional discharge, while the accused sought an absolute discharge.

Applying the Winko test, the Board found that the accused's risk factors were well managed in the community and that he no longer posed a significant threat to public safety.

The Board granted an absolute discharge.

The accused was found not criminally responsible for arson after setting fire to his home while experiencing hallucinations related to Parkinson's Disease.

At the initial disposition hearing, the Hospital and Attorney General recommended a detention order, while the accused sought a conditional discharge.

The Review Board found that the accused remains a significant threat to public safety due to his cognitive decline, history of alcohol use, and lack of insight.

A detention order was imposed to allow the Hospital to assess his medical needs, medication compliance, and appropriate supportive housing.

The accused pleaded guilty to possession of 214 grams of opium for the purpose of trafficking.

He was a first-time offender who had been addicted to opium and possessed it for personal use rather than commercial gain.

The Crown sought a 24-month conditional sentence, while the defence sought a discharge to prevent a criminal record that would bar the accused from working in the trucking industry.

The court granted a conditional discharge with 18 months of probation, finding it was in the accused's best interests and not contrary to the public interest, given his lack of criminal record, good prospects for rehabilitation, and the impact a conviction would have on his employment.

The three accused were charged with conspiracy to traffic cocaine, trafficking cocaine, and possession of proceeds of crime following an RCMP undercover operation.

The Crown's case relied heavily on voice identification evidence from intercepted communications to link the accused Shanker to the conspiracy.

The court found the voice identification evidence unreliable due to cross-racial identification issues, expectation bias, and the poor quality of the recordings.

Without reliable voice identification, the circumstantial evidence of the accused's presence at the warehouse was insufficient to prove their involvement in the drug trafficking scheme beyond a reasonable doubt.

All accused were acquitted of the cocaine-related charges.

Pawar conceded guilt to a separate charge of possessing opium for the purpose of trafficking.