Michelle K. Fuerst

Terry Croteau was sentenced after pleading guilty to fraud over $5000, making false representations in telemarketing contrary to the Competition Act, and using a forged document.

The offences stemmed from intertwined direct mail and telemarketing schemes that defrauded over 2,000 victims of approximately $1.3 million between 2012 and 2019.

The schemes involved misleading "Final Notices" and telemarketing calls designed to appear affiliated with legitimate directories like Yellow Pages, and the use of forged collection letters from "Credifax." Croteau had a prior US conviction for similar fraudulent activity.

The court accepted a joint submission for a 30-month jail sentence, emphasizing denunciation and deterrence due to the magnitude, duration, and recidivism of the offender.

Areeb-Ud-Din Zain pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including three counts of discharging a prohibited firearm with intent to endanger life, unauthorized possession of a non-restricted firearm, flight from police, and possession of cocaine.

The charges stemmed from an incident where Zain fired at three police officers after being stopped for running a red light.

Despite his efforts, no officers were injured.

The court considered aggravating factors, such as the deliberate shooting at police officers, the number of shots fired, the public location, and his criminal record, including prior flight from police.

Mitigating factors included his guilty plea (though not early), his relative youth, and harsh pre-sentence custody conditions.

The court accepted a joint submission for a total sentence of eight and a half years, less pre-sentence custody, emphasizing denunciation, deterrence, and public protection.

The offender pleaded guilty to robbery using a restricted firearm, reckless discharge of a firearm, and related weapons offences.

The offences involved targeted violence against a civil litigation lawyer and her associate to intimidate them from pursuing civil claims against a tow truck operator.

The offender robbed the associate at gunpoint and later fired seven shots into the law office during business hours.

The court emphasized denunciation and deterrence, sentencing the offender to a total of 12 years in custody, less credit for pre-trial custody.

The offender pleaded guilty to multiple serious offences, including discharging a firearm at a police officer during a gas station shootout and engaging in a 10-hour armed standoff at his boobytrapped home.

The police seized a massive arsenal of firearms, ammunition, and explosives from the residence.

The court weighed the extreme gravity of the offences, the offender's prior firearms record, and the breach of prohibition orders against mitigating factors including guilty pleas and harsh pre-sentence custody conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The offender was sentenced to a total of 18 years in custody, less credit for pre-sentence custody.

The 14-year-old accused pleaded guilty to first degree murder after fatally stabbing a 15-year-old fellow resident at a group foster home.

The Crown and defence jointly submitted that the maximum youth sentence of 10 years should be imposed, with no credit for pre-disposition custody.

The court accepted the joint submission, noting the horrific circumstances of the unprovoked attack, the accused's history of violent behaviour, and his significant psychiatric conditions.

The accused was sentenced to six years in custody followed by four years of conditional supervision in the community.

The Crown sought dangerous offender designation arising from repeated intimate partner assaults, including two sexual assaults with weapons, committed over a short period while the offender was bound by multiple probation orders.

Relying on psychiatric evidence and the offender’s extensive record of violent, sexual, and breach-related offending, the court found the statutory criteria under s. 753 were proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

Applying the governing dangerous offender framework, the court concluded that a conventional sentence alone would not adequately protect the public, but that a determinate penitentiary sentence followed by a 10-year long-term supervision order would do so.

The offender was designated a dangerous offender and sentenced to a total of eight and one half years’ imprisonment, less four years’ pre-trial custody credit, with ancillary orders.

The offender pleaded guilty to fraud over $5000 and money laundering after operating a $29 million Ponzi scheme called Debit Direct.

He sold fake point-of-sale debit terminals to hundreds of investors and transferred the funds to the Dominican Republic.

The court sentenced the offender to 7 years in prison, less pre-sentence custody, and ordered $26.9 million in restitution along with a matching fine in lieu of forfeiture.

Three defendants, Levi Alexander, Vejay Alexander, and Lamar Cyrus, pleaded guilty to manslaughter after a planned robbery of a modified starter's pistol resulted in the unintentional shooting death of Alex Perlmutter.

Lamar Cyrus also pleaded guilty to unauthorized possession of a prohibited firearm.

The court accepted joint sentencing recommendations, emphasizing the egregious nature of the offence, the defendants' disregard for court orders (firearms prohibitions, probation conditions), and their serious criminal records.

Mitigating factors included the guilty pleas (though late) and the harshness of pre-sentencing custody during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The victim's family provided impact statements detailing their profound loss.

Following guilty pleas to sexual interference, making an arrangement by telecommunication to commit a specified sexual offence against a child, breaching a prohibition order, and breaching probation, the Crown sought a dangerous offender designation.

The offender consented to designation but argued for a shorter determinate sentence and enhanced pre-sentence custody credit.

Applying the dangerous offender framework, the court found the statutory criteria met beyond a reasonable doubt and concluded that the offender posed a high likelihood of harmful recidivism, but that a determinate penitentiary sentence combined with a 10-year long-term supervision order would adequately protect the public.

An eight-year sentence was imposed on the predicate offences, with 41 months of pre-sentence custody enhanced to 46 months, together with extensive ancillary orders.

The accused pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing the death of her 11-month-old son, who died from acute fentanyl intoxication after being exposed to the drug in their shared bed.

The court accepted a joint submission from the Crown and defence, sentencing the accused to two years in jail, less pre-trial custody, followed by two years of probation.

The court emphasized the primacy of denunciation and deterrence for offences involving child abuse, while also considering the accused's guilty plea, traumatic background, and rehabilitative efforts.

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 offender pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of his mother and the first-degree murders of his grandmother, sister, and father.

He killed his family members to prevent them from discovering he had dropped out of college.

The court accepted a joint submission, sentencing the offender to life imprisonment on all counts with consecutive parole ineligibility periods resulting in a total of 40 years before he can apply for parole.

The offender pleaded guilty to manslaughter after striking the victim with a baseball bat during a confrontation, causing the victim to fall down stairs and die.

The offender had a precarious medical condition, including a cerebral aneurysm, making incarceration potentially fatal.

The court accepted a joint submission from the Crown and defence, sentencing the offender to a 20-month conditional sentence of imprisonment after crediting 24 months for pre-sentence custody and strict bail conditions.

The offender pleaded guilty to robbery and aggravated assault following a violent home invasion where the victim was handcuffed and beaten with a baton and BB gun.

The court accepted a joint submission, sentencing the offender to five years in the penitentiary, reduced to three years after applying credit for pre-trial custody, strict bail conditions, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The offender pleaded guilty to possession of a loaded prohibited firearm, flight from police, and possession of a prohibited firearm while prohibited.

He fled from police in a vehicle and on foot, discarding a loaded handgun with a removed serial number.

At the time, he was subject to a lifetime weapons prohibition.

Accepting a joint submission, the court sentenced the offender to four years in custody, leaving 22 months and 15 days to serve after accounting for pre-sentence custody and lockdown credits.

The accused pleaded guilty to multiple offences related to recruiting teenaged girls into the sex trade industry.

The court accepted a joint submission for a total sentence of six years in custody, less 335 days of pre-sentence custody credit.

The court noted the serious aggravating factors of exploitation and the ages of the victims, balanced against the accused's youth, guilty pleas, and rehabilitative efforts while in pre-sentence custody.

Various ancillary orders were also imposed, including weapons prohibitions, a SOIRA order, and a non-communication order.

Clifford Campsall pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his girlfriend, Shelby Goldhar, whom he strangled and partially dismembered.

The court considered aggravating factors including the domestic nature of the homicide, the victim's vulnerabilities, the offender's prior assault conviction against the victim, and the indignity to the body.

Mitigating factors included the guilty plea, youthfulness, intellectual disability, and family support.

The court sentenced the offender to 9 years imprisonment, with credit for pre-sentence custody, including additional credit for difficult conditions of incarceration (lockdowns, triple bunking, and COVID-19 pandemic stress).

Sahilan Surendran was sentenced for manslaughter after pleading guilty to the shooting death of Kyle Baker.

The incident occurred during a drug deal where Baker accosted and assaulted Surendran, who then fired multiple shots, including fatal ones after Baker had released him.

The court considered aggravating factors such as Surendran's extensive criminal record, use of a firearm while subject to prohibition orders, and lack of assistance to the victim.

Mitigating factors included his guilty plea, expression of remorse, unstable upbringing, a childhood head injury, and acting under provocation.

The court also noted the limited weight given to a forensic psychiatrist's report due to lack of confirmatory information.

The sentence emphasized denunciation and deterrence, particularly given the prevalence of unlawful handguns in the community.

The accused pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder after being pressured by co-accused to help locate the victim, who was subsequently shot and killed by one of the co-accused.

The court accepted a joint submission for a sentence of 5.5 years, reduced to 18 months after crediting 48 months for pre-trial custody and lockdown conditions.

The court noted the accused's cooperation with the Crown, his youth, Indigenous background, and lack of prior adult record as mitigating factors.

The offender pleaded guilty to multiple counts of failing to comply with probation and a non-communication order by repeatedly contacting his former partner while in custody and on parole.

The court emphasized denunciation and specific deterrence given the offender's history of domestic violence and blatant disregard for court orders.

The offender was sentenced to one day in jail, after receiving 22 months of enhanced credit for pre-sentence custody and lockdown conditions, followed by three years of probation with strict non-contact conditions.