Michelle K. Fuerst

The accused pleaded guilty to manslaughter after killing and decapitating his father while experiencing a cannabis-induced psychosis.

The court accepted a joint submission for a 5-year sentence, less pre-sentence custody credit, noting the horrific nature of the offence, the breach of trust, and the accused's lack of prior record, early guilty plea, and genuine remorse.

The court sentenced an Indigenous offender who pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and making available child pornography after police found a very large collection of highly graphic child sexual abuse material and evidence of online sharing.

Applying the statutory sentencing principles, the court held that denunciation and general deterrence were primary, and specific deterrence was also significant given the offender's prior sexual offence record, diagnosed paraphilic disorder, elevated risk of sexual recidivism, and limited insight.

The court considered Gladue and Ipeelee factors, including intergenerational trauma and community circumstances, but found they did not substantially reduce moral blameworthiness or justify a non-penitentiary or materially shorter custodial sentence.

A sentence of three years and 10 months on the making available count and three years and four months concurrent on the possession count was imposed, together with DNA, lifetime SOIRA, lifetime s. 161 prohibitions, and forfeiture.

The accused pleaded guilty to armed robbery and possession of a loaded restricted firearm after robbing a victim of his truck at gunpoint in his driveway.

The court accepted a joint submission, weighing the serious aggravating factors of gun violence against the mitigating factors of a guilty plea, youth, lack of adult record, and positive rehabilitative prospects.

The accused was sentenced to 4 years' imprisonment, reduced to 3.5 years after credit for pre-trial custody and strict bail conditions.

Dimytri Ingram-Piruzevski pleaded guilty to manslaughter following the fatal stabbing of Keegan Blyth during a drug transaction.

Ingram-Piruzevski, who armed a youth with a lethal weapon, was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment, reduced to a net 4 years and 9 months after credit for pre-sentence custody and lockdown conditions.

The court balanced significant aggravating factors, including the context of a drug deal, arming a minor, and flight from the scene, against mitigating factors such as the defendant's youth, lack of prior record, early guilty plea, and cooperation with the police.

Ancillary orders for DNA, a lifetime weapons prohibition, and forfeiture of seized items were also imposed.

The accused pleaded guilty to a serious, planned offence that involved travelling from Kitchener to Vaughan and posed a risk of serious harm to residents.

The accused had a significant criminal record including weapons offences.

Accepting a joint submission, the court sentenced the accused to 1.5 years in jail, consecutive to a sentence already being served, along with a lifetime weapons prohibition and a DNA order.

The offender pleaded guilty to second degree murder after shooting his wife of 46 years.

The Crown and defence jointly submitted that the minimum period of parole ineligibility of 10 years should be imposed.

The court accepted the joint submission, noting the horrific nature of the domestic homicide but also recognizing mitigating factors including the offender's guilty plea, lack of prior record, Aboriginal heritage, and age.

The offender was sentenced to life imprisonment with no eligibility for parole for 10 years.

The accused pleaded guilty to a gunpoint robbery of a man in his truck, along with related offences.

The accused had a significant youth record including two prior robberies.

The court accepted a joint submission, sentencing the accused to 5 years in custody, less 2 years of enhanced credit for pre-trial custody, leaving 3 years to serve.

Concurrent sentences were imposed for the other counts, along with DNA and weapons prohibition orders.

The accused pleaded guilty to possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin, and possession of a weapon.

The court accepted a joint submission for a sentence of three years and nine months, less pre-sentence custody credit.

The court considered the accused's Aboriginal background, traumatic childhood, and substance abuse issues, as well as the aggravating nature of the highly addictive drugs involved.

At the accused's request, the remaining sentence was structured as two years to allow him to serve it in a federal penitentiary where he could access programming.

This costs endorsement followed a successful motion by the defendants to transfer an action from Perth to Oshawa.

The court found the defendants' requested costs of over $12,000 to be excessive for a straightforward, in-writing motion within a Simplified Procedure action.

The court awarded all-inclusive costs of $2,500, payable by the plaintiff to the defendants.

The offender pleaded guilty to robbery and using an imitation firearm after robbing a convenience store at night while armed with a BB gun.

The stolen cigarettes contained a GPS tracker, leading to his swift arrest.

The court weighed the offender's traumatic childhood and guilty plea against his lengthy criminal record, which included a prior penitentiary sentence for robbery.

The court imposed a total sentence of 32 months and 15 days in custody, consecutive to a sentence currently being served, after crediting pre-trial custody.

The accused pleaded guilty to trafficking in cocaine for commercial gain.

As a first-time offender with a strong employment history and family support, the court accepted a joint submission for a sentence of 2.5 years in custody on the trafficking count, with a concurrent 6-month sentence on another count.

DNA and weapons prohibition orders were also imposed.

The defendants moved for an order transferring this action from Perth to Oshawa, arguing Oshawa was a significantly better venue due to the contract being entered there, vehicle servicing in Durham Region, and witness locations.

The plaintiff opposed, citing inconvenience for his family witnesses in the East Region.

The court applied Rule 13.1.02(2)(b) of the Rules of Civil Procedure holistically, finding Oshawa significantly better given the transaction's nexus, service locations, and defendant witness locations, despite the plaintiff's current residence.

The motion was granted, transferring the action to Oshawa.

The accused, Balwinder Dhaliwal, a key member of a criminal organization involved in stealing, re-vinning, and selling motor vehicles, was sentenced following a guilty plea.

The court emphasized denunciation and deterrence due to the sophisticated nature of the operation, the significant financial value of vehicles involved, multiple victims, and the accused's substantial criminal record for similar offenses.

While the guilty plea was late, it was accepted as a sign of remorse and responsibility, saving court time.

The court accepted a joint submission from counsel.

The defendants sought to transfer a civil action from Toronto to Newmarket, arguing common issues with a related family law proceeding.

The plaintiff opposed, asserting the civil action involved discrete transactions and that the family law matter was overly complex and largely irrelevant to his claims.

The court dismissed the transfer motion, finding the moving parties failed to demonstrate that the proposed venue was significantly better, particularly given the limited overlap of issues and the potential for undue complication of the civil claim within the broader family law litigation.

Liridon Imerovik pleaded guilty to two counts of trafficking fentanyl and one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking.

He participated in a sophisticated scheme involving a pharmacist and a physician, trafficking an estimated 2780 fentanyl patches over several months.

The court considered significant aggravating factors, including the dangerous nature of fentanyl, the calculated operation, Imerovik's integral role, the large quantity of drugs, and commercial gain.

Mitigating factors included his guilty plea, first offender status, youthfulness, and impressive efforts to address his fentanyl addiction, which was a significant motivator for his involvement.

The court emphasized denunciation and general deterrence as paramount objectives.

A sentence of 6 years in jail was imposed, reduced by 4 months for time spent on house arrest bail, resulting in a net sentence of 5 years and 8 months.

Ancillary orders included a 10-year s. 109(2)(a) order, a life s. 109(2)(b) order, a DNA order, and forfeiture of seized cash.

The offender pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of his wife, whom he stabbed while she was in bed.

The court considered the offender's history of domestic violence against the victim, his mental health issues, and his guilty plea.

Applying the criteria under section 745.4 of the Criminal Code, the court sentenced the offender to life imprisonment with a parole ineligibility period of 15 years.

James Garthwaite pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the shooting death of Dana Camber during a planned drug robbery.

The court considered aggravating factors including the use of a loaded sawed-off shotgun, the planned ruse, the pursuit of the victim, the invasion of a home, the fact that the victim was an innocent bystander, and the offender's extensive criminal record, parole status, and firearms prohibition.

Mitigating factors included the early guilty plea, expression of remorse, relatively young age, difficult childhood, and efforts to further education in prison.

The court sentenced Garthwaite to 10 years in penitentiary, less 495 days for pre-sentence custody, resulting in 8 years, 7 months, and 15 days remaining.

Ancillary orders included a DNA order, a lifetime firearms prohibition (s. 109), a non-communication order, and forfeiture of the firearm.

The defendant/plaintiff by counterclaim, Ryan Wood, brought a motion to transfer the action from Toronto to Barrie, pursuant to Rule 13.1.02 of the Rules of Civil Procedure.

The plaintiff/defendants by counterclaim opposed the transfer.

The court applied a holistic approach to the factors outlined in Rule 13.1.02(2)(b), noting that the action originated from events in Simcoe County, all parties resided in Barrie, and there was no factual or evidentiary connection to Toronto.

The court found that the moving party demonstrated that transferring the action to Barrie was desirable in the interest of justice.

The motion was granted, and the action was ordered transferred.

The defendants moved to transfer an action from Hamilton to Newmarket and to consolidate it with an application in Toronto.

The action arose from a failed residential property sale in Vaughan.

The court granted the transfer of the action to Newmarket, finding that the events, property, and parties were all located in York Region, making Newmarket a significantly better venue than Hamilton, which had no factual connection.

The motion to transfer and consolidate the application was dismissed as premature, requiring the application to first be converted to an action in Toronto.

The court delivered reasons for sentence for Bradley Screen, who pleaded guilty to an offence carrying a maximum 10-year imprisonment.

Aggravating factors included a criminal record dating back to 2009 and a considerable amount of money obtained.

Mitigating factors included an early guilty plea and acceptance of responsibility.

The court accepted a joint submission from Crown and defence, sentencing Mr. Screen to eight months in jail, consecutive to his current sentence, followed by 12 months of probation with specific conditions, a DNA order, and a $200 victim fine surcharge with 24 months to pay.