L. Pasquino

The offender pleaded guilty to manslaughter after setting up a home invasion robbery during which the victim was shot and killed by a co-accused.

The Crown and defence jointly submitted a sentence of 7 years imprisonment but disagreed on the quantum of pre-sentence custody credit for lockdowns and COVID-19 conditions.

The court accepted the joint submission of 7 years and granted 55 months of pre-sentence credit, including 8 months of enhanced credit for staffing-related lockdowns and pandemic conditions, resulting in a remaining sentence of 2 years and 5 months.

The applicant, charged with first degree murder alongside three co-defendants, applied for a separate trial.

He argued that a joint trial would be unfair because the Crown intended to adduce intercepted conversations involving his co-defendants that were inadmissible against him but potentially prejudicial.

The court dismissed the application, finding that the intercepts did not directly incriminate the applicant and that any risk of prejudice could be managed through limiting instructions.

The court concluded that the pragmatic benefits of a joint trial outweighed the potential prejudice.

The accused was charged with conspiracy to traffic in cocaine, trafficking, and possession for the purpose of trafficking after acting as a courier to transport half a kilogram of cocaine from Toronto to Ottawa.

The Crown relied on intercepted communications and circumstantial evidence to prove the accused's knowledge.

The court found that the accused was wilfully blind to the fact that he was transporting a controlled substance, given the suspicious circumstances, urgency, and use of guarded language.

The accused was found guilty on all counts.