Reasons for Judgment

Introduction

COURT FILE NO.: CR-23-0269-00
DATE: 2025-05-26
ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE

BETWEEN:
His Majesty the King
– and –
Ja’Coy Stevenson, Accused

Lillian Taylor, for the Provincial Crown
Misbah Haque, for the Federal Crown
Kannan S’ree, for the Accused

HEARD: November 27, 28 and 29, 2024, and December 23, 2024, Thunder Bay, Ontario

The Honourable Mr. Justice S. J. Wojciechowski

Introduction

[1] On July 27, 2022, members of the Thunder Bay Police Service executed a search warrant at apartment 101 of 1100 Lincoln Street, Thunder Bay, Ontario (“the Premises”). At that time, the Premises were being leased by Donna Whittaker, who was present at the time of the execution of the warrant and subsequently arrested. Also found at the Premises were several men, including Brody Gallinger, Boris Kljujic, and Ja’Coy Stevenson, along with a quantity of drugs, Canadian currency, drug paraphernalia, and a firearm.

[2] Boris Kljujic was arrested and charged with several criminal offences, all of which have resolved.

[3] Ja’Coy Stevenson was charged with drug related offences, including possession for the purpose of trafficking, as well as charges relating to the firearm and the currency found at the Premises.

[4] The Crown’s case against Ja’Coy Stevenson was the focus of this trial.

Drug Related Offences

[5] Ja’Coy Stevenson was charged with the following offences relating to the controlled substances found at the Premises:

a. Possession of cocaine and fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking contrary to sections 5(1) and 5(3)(a) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act; and
b. Possession of proceeds not exceeding $5,000, while knowing that the proceeds were obtained by the commission of an indictable offence contrary to section 354(1)(a) of the Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46 (the “Code”).

Firearm Offences

[6] With respect to the firearm found on the Premises, Ja’Coy Stevenson was charged with the following offences:

a. Possessing a Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol without being the holder of a registration certificate or licence for the firearm contrary to sections 91(1) and 92(1) of the Criminal Code;
b. Possessing a loaded prohibited firearm contrary to section 95(a) of the Criminal Code;
c. Altering the serial number on the Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol contrary to section 108(1)(a) of the Criminal Code;
d. Storing the firearm in a careless manner contrary to section 86(1) of the Criminal Code; and
e. Altering the Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol so that it was capable of rapid succession firing during pressure of the trigger contrary to section 102 of the Criminal Code.

General Findings Relating to Drugs and Firearm

[7] The parties agreed to several facts and conclusions from experts.

[8] Substances found at the Premises were tested and confirmed to be cocaine and fentanyl. While not an agreed upon fact, as explained further in these reasons, the quantities of cocaine and fentanyl seized were not indicative of being solely for personal use.

[9] Just over $1,500 in Canadian currency was seized at the Premises.

[10] With respect to the Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol found at the Premises (“the Firearm”) the following is admitted:

a. It is a firearm as per section 2 of the Code;
b. It is a prohibited firearm as per section 84(1) of the Code;
c. When the Firearm was seized, it was loaded with ammunition;
d. The ammunition seized along with the Firearm was test fired and found to be ammunition within the meaning of Section 84(1) of the Code;
e. The serial numbers had been filed off;
f. The box magazine was adapted to hold 19 cartridges or bullets, and any box magazine which can hold more than 10 cartridges is considered to be a prohibited device; and
g. It was altered with the installation of an aftermarket Auto Sear, converting the Firearm from shooting in a semiautomatic mode to fully automatic and capable of rapid succession firing.

[11] Ja’Coy Stevenson was not issued a registration certificate, firearms acquisition certificate, or licence that at any time authorized him to possess the Firearm.

[12] Accordingly, the main issue in this trial involves whether Ja’Coy Stevenson was in possession of the drugs, money, and the Firearm found at the Premises.

Crown Evidence

[13] Several police officers took the stand to provide evidence in support of the Crown’s assertions that Ja’Coy Stevenson possessed the drugs found at the Premises, the monies stored with the drugs, and the Firearm.

Detective Dan Bartol

[14] Detective Dan Bartol (“Detective Bartol”), an experienced detective with the Thunder Bay Police Service, was the lead investigator from the Thunder Bay Police Service regarding street level sales of cocaine and fentanyl out of the Premises. Detective Bartol gave evidence that the building at 1100 Lincoln Street was owned by Thunder Bay Housing, and the Thunder Bay Police Service had received information from a confidential informant that drug sales were taking place at that location.

[15] In addition, the Thunder Bay Police Service had received information from the Thunder Bay District Housing Staff that they were getting complaints regarding the activities at the Premises.

[16] Existing cameras at 1100 Lincoln Street were accessed by the Thunder Bay Police Service and provided surveillance of the front and back door of the Premises. A review of this surveillance footage over the two days before a warrant was obtained and executed showed that there was a high level of foot traffic at that location.

[17] The Premises had two entrances, one from the inside of building at 1100 Lincoln Street, and one leading directly to the outside. To access the inside entrance to the Premises, it was necessary for someone attending the building to be buzzed in, as 1100 Lincoln Street was a secure building. If not using the outside entrance, anyone attending the Premises would have to enter through the front door of 1100 Lincoln Street, pass through a lobby area, and then turn to the left to find the inside door to the Premises.

[18] The tenant of the Premises was Donna Whittaker, who had a tenant agreement with Thunder Bay District Housing Corporation.

[19] During the course of the investigation, Detective Bartol testified that the information received was that there were two persons from out of town, not from Thunder Bay, who were selling drugs out of the Premises.

[20] Detective Bartol was part of the execution team that entered the Premises pursuant to a warrant. Upon executing the warrant, approximately seven officers breached the door to the Premises that connected directly to the outside. Detective Bartol estimated that he was fourth in the line of officers who entered the Premises. Once he entered the Premises, Detective Bartol observed an officer with Donna Whittaker, who was sitting in a wheelchair in the living room. Walking past Donna Whittaker, Detective Bartol walked through the living room and followed another officer down a hallway. He proceeded directly to the end of the hallway where a bathroom was located. Opening the door, Detective Bartol found a male located there who was placed under arrest for possession for the purposes of trafficking. This male was eventually identified as Brody Gallinger. At the time of his arrest, Brody Gallinger was noted to possess a crumpled-up piece of tinfoil in his hand with residue resembling cocaine.

[21] Detective Bartol described Brody Gallinger as someone who looked like a drug addict, as he appeared sickly, not healthy, possessing a piece of tin foil with white residue that was also on his hands. He was fully clothed, and not using the sink or the toilet in the bathroom. Detective Bartol did not hear the toilet flush nor water running in the sink immediately before or as he entered. Ultimately, it was determined that Brody Gallinger was not involved in the trafficking operation and instead was there to purchase and use drugs. The tin foil in his hand was empty, and it only contained residue, and it appeared to Detective Bartol that he had been in the bathroom by himself and likely just consumed the drugs he had purchased. Brody Gallinger was well known to police in Thunder Bay and was not charged.

[22] As a further result of the execution of the search warrant, two males were located in a back bedroom of the Premises, which was one of two bedrooms in the Premises (“the Second Bedroom”). Neither of the individuals were from Thunder Bay, and both were arrested and charged with possession of controlled substances for the purposes of trafficking, possession of the proceeds of crime, and possession of the Firearm. The two individuals located in the Second Bedroom were Boris Kljujic and Ja’Coy Stevenson.

[23] While Detective Bartol did not assist with the physical search of Ja’Coy Stevenson, he did not observe any residue on his person, nor any indication that he had just consumed any drugs.

[24] The search of the Second Bedroom resulted in the following items being identified and seized:

1. There was one bed in the Second Bedroom, on which were clearly visible three cell phones, some clothing in larger sizes, and unused tinfoil in two packages along with a fanny pack at the top of the bed beside a hat.
2. The fanny pack on the bed was black, made of a fake leather type material. Inside the fanny pack, individual torn pieces of plastic bags were found, one of which was found to contain fentanyl, and the other was determined to contain crack cocaine.
3. A digital scale was located on a stool beside the bed that was in good working condition and had a contaminated surface of white flecks believed to be cocaine. Beside the scale, there was tinfoil, several knives with white residue on the blade all of which was located approximately one foot from the bed. Four pieces of tinfoil were not folded and were unused. However, eight pieces of tinfoil – six on the stool and two under the stool on the floor – were neatly folded and were determined to contain small amounts of crack cocaine.
4. A substance was found wrapped up in a piece of grey and white ripped plastic bag in a cardboard box on top of a pile of clothes which was determined to contain crack cocaine.
5. A black Nike brand satchel (“the Nike Satchel”) was also found amongst the mound of clothes. In that Nike Satchel, the Firearm was discovered. In addition, $1,515 in Canadian currency was found in the Nike Satchel, along with a piece of grey plastic bag and a white plastic bag, both containing fentanyl. Finally, two folded tin foil flaps were also found in the Nike Satchel which contained fentanyl.
6. The clothing items found on the bed in the Second Bedroom included an extra large hoodie, zippered hoodies with the size of 3XL, and a clothing item which was sized 2XL.

[25] It was Detective Bartol’s evidence that, after the entirety of the Premises was searched, the primary search ended up being in the Second Bedroom where Boris Kljujic and Ja’Coy Stevenson had been found and arrested. This was the only place or room within the Premises in which controlled substances, a digital scale, two persons from out of town, and male clothing were found. The remainder of the apartment and its contents appeared to belong to and be controlled by Donna Whittaker.

[26] No drugs nor drug paraphernalia were found elsewhere within the Premises.

[27] With respect to one of the three cell phones seized, after it was subjected to analysis using the computer program “Cellebrite”, data extracted confirmed it belonged to Ja’Coy Stevenson.

[28] Specifically, the device name provided to the iPhone by its user was “Jacoy’s iPhone”. One email address used on the phone to send emails was stevenson.jacoy@gmail.com. Another email address associated with the phone was jacoy.stevenson@icloud.com. Also, addresses in various apps referenced the name Ja’Coy Stevenson, verifying that this phone was used by him.

[29] Several web history searches were found on the phone during the time period July 22 to July 25, 2022, which is within days of the search warrant being executed. The titles of the web sites which were visited using Ja’Coy Stevenson’s phone included the following:

• Drug Raid Lincoln Street on July 25, 2022
• Drug Raid Lincoln Street on July 24, 2022
• Police interrupt home takeover, seize fentanyl and cocaine, arrest four / Thunder Bay on July 24, 2022
• Two Toronto-area men arrested for trafficking fentanyl in a Thunder Bay social housing complex on July 24, 2022
• 1100 lincoln st thunder bay raid on July 24, 2022
• 223 syndicate thunder bay raid on July 22, 2022
• Neighbours cheer as Hardworking TB Police Raid a Drug House on July 22, 2022
• Investigation into suspected home takeover results in arrest of 18-year-old, seizure of loaded handgun on July 22, 2022
• How Fast Can the Police Get a Search Warrant? on July 22, 2022
• how long does it take to get a search warrant on July 22, 2022
• In what urgent situations can the police enter my home? on July 22, 2022
• What are my rights if the police ask to enter my home? on July 22, 2022
• What are my rights if the police have a search warrant? on July 22, 2022
• search warrant on July 22, 2022
• search warrant requirements on July 22, 2022

[30] On the iPhone belonging to Ja’Coy Stevenson, there were also a number of conversations with others which discussed drugs.

[31] A Snapchat conversation between the username of the owner of the phone, Savior Supreme, and someone with the username Merlin, involves Savior Supreme – who is Ja’Coy Stevenson – asking Merlin if he or she wants to come to Thunder Bay and set up a drug trafficking operation. Merlin is asked if he or she has been to Thunder Bay, and Savior Supreme offers to set Merlin up nicely, that there is a spot where “you can crush bounces a day. You make 2k every bounce you crush. You don’t need to put up any money either just need you to come grind with the mandem and make your bread.”

[32] Detective Bartol explained that “crushing bounces” means “selling ounces”, and that “grind” means “work hard”. In other words, Ja’Coy Stevenson was telling Merlin if he or she came to Thunder Bay, they could be set up with an opportunity to traffick in drugs and make $2,000 for every ounce sold as long as he or she was prepared to work hard at it.

[33] In another Snapchat conversation, Savior Supreme is talking to “sstutin Leekz”, telling him or her that Savior Supreme is building a program in Thunder Bay, and that if sstutin Leekz came he or she would not be put in a trap house or the trenches but instead a safe house or a hotel.

[34] The same Snapchat conversation then continues to discuss a “nia”, which Detective Bartol identified as being another name for a 9 millimetre firearm. Savior Supreme offers sstutin Leekz an opportunity to play with the gun, who declines “unless you’re letting me shoot it”.

[35] On cross examination, Detective Bartol admitted that some of the conversation on the cell phone belonging to Ja’Coy Stevenson related to the purchase of marijuana. Savior Supreme – Ja’Coy Stevenson – reached out to Queenoftbay to get a delivery of marijuana to 1100 Lincoln Street.

[36] In addition, Detective Bartol testified that within the Snapchat conversations, there is no specific reference to cocaine or fentanyl.

The remainder of the judgment continues with detailed evidence from other officers, expert witnesses, the positions of the Crown and defence, and the court’s analysis and findings. The full text is available at the source link.

Conclusion

“Original signed by”
The Hon. Justice S. J. Wojciechowski
Released: May 26, 2025