Offender sentenced to 90 days further custody for cocaine trafficking and ammunition offences.
The offender pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, careless storage of ammunition, and possession of ammunition while prohibited.
The offender was found with 21 grams of cocaine, cutting agent, and ammunition during a traffic stop.
The court considered the offender's related criminal record and the guilty pleas.
The court sentenced the offender to 90 days in custody in addition to 583 days of pre-sentence credit, declining to impose probation.
Home-search evidence excluded after firefighters acted as police agents.
On a pretrial Charter application in a criminal prosecution involving marihuana and firearms found after emergency personnel attended a reported home invasion and fire, the court held that both accused had standing to challenge the search of the home but not the searches of a minivan and outbuilding on the property.
The court found that firefighters who re-entered the residence at police request were acting as state agents, and that opening a basement freezer without lawful authority constituted an unreasonable search under s. 8 of the Charter.
Applying the Grant framework, the court held that the prolonged warrantless search of the residence and resulting seizure of evidence from the home required exclusion under s. 24(2).
Evidence from the minivan and outbuilding remained admissible.
Repeat cocaine trafficker received an 18-month effective custodial sentence.
The court sentenced a repeat drug offender who pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking after police seized 22 grams of crack cocaine, a digital scale with cocaine residue, and cash.
The offender had a prior Schedule I importing conviction, triggering a mandatory minimum sentence of one year under the CDSA.
Balancing denunciation and deterrence against the guilty plea, mental health concerns, rehabilitative prospects, and pre-sentence custody, the court fixed the range at 18 to 30 months and imposed a sentence at the low end.
The effective sentence was 18 months' imprisonment, reduced by 12 months' enhanced credit for pre-sentence custody, together with forfeiture, DNA, and lifetime weapons prohibition orders on consent.
