COURT OF APPEAL FOR ONTARIO
Doherty, Pepall and Hourigan JJ.A.
BETWEEN
Her Majesty the Queen
Respondent
and
Konstantinos Gus Sountas
Appellant
Mark C. Halfyard, for the appellant
Brock Jones, for the respondent
Heard: September 20, 2016
On appeal from the conviction entered by Justice Anne Mullins of the Superior Court of Justice, sitting with a jury, dated February 5, 2014.
APPEAL BOOK ENDORSEMENT
1The Crown acknowledged that the reasonableness of the verdict ultimately came down to the inference that could be drawn from the finding of the cheques in the name of the appellant in the bedroom where the drugs were found. In our view, no reasonable jury could conclude, based on the entirety of the evidence, that the appellant was in possession of the drugs.
2The evidence, or more accurately the absence of evidence, left open other “plausible” theories inconsistent with the appellant being in possession of the drugs: see R. v. Villaroman, 2016 SCC 33, at paras. 37-38.
3The appeal is allowed, the conviction quashed and an acquittal entered.