Court of Appeal for Ontario
Before: Goudge, Gillese and Ducharme JJ.A.
Between
Her Majesty the Queen
Respondent
and
Christopher Fijalkowski
Appellant
Counsel: Stuart W. Konyer, for the appellant Michael Bernstein, for the respondent
Heard: May 22, 2012
On appeal from the conviction entered on February 16, 2011 and the sentence imposed on April 27, 2011 by Justice Robert Graydon of the Ontario Court of Justice, sitting without a jury.
APPEAL BOOK ENDORSEMENT
1The appellant concedes that the trial judge correctly stated the relevant law and that to succeed on this appeal he must show that no reasonable trier could have come to this conclusion.
2In our view the trial judge had ample evidence to reasonably sustain his conclusion and to convict. The circumstances leading up to the phone call and the clear language the appellant used with the undercover officer are ample testament to that. The conviction appeal fails.
3As to sentence, this offender, although young and from a troubled background, was serving an eight-year penitentiary term and had a substantial prior record. This was a serious offence and related to a police officer doing his job. We find this sentence within the appropriate range.
4The conviction appeal and sentence appeal must both therefore be dismissed.