M. Caramanna

Denrick Rose pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and bodily harm, and breaching a release order curfew.

The offence involved driving at speeds exceeding 200 km/h on Highway 400 and King Road, with five passengers, two of whom urged him to slow down.

The vehicle crashed into a light standard, killing passenger Amelia Bal and seriously injuring others.

The Crown sought a 5-year sentence plus a 7-year driving prohibition; the defence sought 2 years plus 5 years prohibition.

The court imposed a global sentence of 4.5 years with a 10-year driving prohibition, considering aggravating factors including deliberate prolonged dangerous driving, breach of bail, and victim impact, balanced against mitigating factors such as the offender’s youth, remorse, strong rehabilitative prospects, and harsh presentence custody conditions.

The decision also addresses the impact of systemic anti-Black racism on sentencing.

The defendant, Ehsan Rahmanian, was tried for driving with a blood-alcohol concentration above the legal limit.

He brought a Charter application to exclude breath readings, arguing violations of sections 8 (unreasonable search and seizure) and 9 (arbitrary detention) due to the officer's failure to expressly invoke mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) authority.

The court found that the officer had reasonable suspicion to demand a screening sample based on problematic driving, odour of alcohol, and bloodshot eyes.

It further held that police are not required to declaratively invoke the MAS authority during testimony.

The Charter application was denied, and a finding of guilt was entered.

The applicant, Troy Simpson, sought a stay of proceedings under s. 24(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, alleging a violation of his right to be tried within a reasonable time under s. 11(b).

The total delay from the swearing of the Information to the anticipated end of trial was 576 days.

The court deducted 91 days attributable to defence delay due to lack of diligence in pursuing disclosure and setting pre-trials, and an additional 90 days for exceptional circumstances related to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on court operations.

After these deductions, the net delay was calculated at 395 days (12.9 months), which falls below the 18-month presumptive ceiling for the Ontario Court of Justice.

Consequently, the application for a stay of proceedings was dismissed.