Court of Appeal for Ontario

Citation: R. v. Mohammed, 2009 ONCA 586

Date: 2009-07-22

Docket: C49923

Between:

Her Majesty the Queen Respondent

And

Danny Ramesh Mohammed Appellant

Before: Simmons, Rouleau and Watt JJ.A.

Counsel:

Victoria Rivers, for the appellant Gavin MacDonald, for the respondent

Heard and endorsed: July 20, 2009 On appeal from sentence imposed by Justice Ian Nordheimer of the Superior Court of Justice dated September 30, 2008.

APPEAL BOOK ENDORSEMENT

[1] The appellant pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to an effective sentence of nine years imprisonment based on credit for 30 months presentence custody. The appellant raises two issues on his sentence appeal.

[2] First, the appellant claims that the sentencing judge erred by giving insufficient consideration to the mitigating factors of provocation and the appellant's intoxication. Although the sentencing judge listed these factors as mitigating factors, the appellant claims that the sentencing judge effectively neutralized them through subsequent comments.

[3] We disagree. The sentencing judge referred explicitly in his reasons to both factors. It is fanciful to suggest that he subsequently disregarded them

[4] Second, the appellant claims that the sentencing judge placed undue emphasis on the aggravating factor of the appellant being armed with a knife. Again, we disagree. It was entirely appropriate for the sentencing judge to take account of the fact that violent offences occur at least in part because offenders choose to arm themselves.

[5] This was a violent offence. The deceased was stabbed no less than 8 times, most of the stabs were to the torso and at least two of them were very deep. On our reading of his reasons, the sentencing judge considered all of the relevant factors, committed no error in principle and imposed a sentence that was within the range.

[6] Leave to appeal is granted but the sentence appeal is dismissed