Court of Appeal for Ontario

CITATION: R. v. Barnswell, 2011 ONCA 159

DATE: 20110301

DOCKET: C51486

BEFORE: O’Connor A.C.J.O., Doherty and Blair JJ.A.

BETWEEN

Her Majesty the Queen

Respondent

and

Justin Barnswell

Applicant (Appellant)

COUNSEL:

Delmar Doucette, for the applicant (appellant)

Benita Wassenaar, for the respondent

HEARD: February 28, 2011

On appeal from the conviction entered by Justice M.L. Lack of the Superior Court of Justice dated August 19, 2009 and the sentence imposed on October 19, 2009.

APPEAL BOOK ENDORSEMENT

[1] The conviction appeal was abandoned.

[2] The appellant concedes that the sentence imposed was in the appropriate range for this very serious offence of aggravated assault. The appellant stabbed the victim four times and one stab wound came perilously close to the victim’s jugular vein.

[3] We do not accept the appellant’s argument that the trial judge erred in the way she approached the issue of rehabilitation. In our view, it was open to the trial judge to take into account the appellant’s failure to perceive the connection between his lifestyle, which involved the extensive use of alcohol and marijuana, and the offence.

[4] In the result, the application for leave to appeal the sentence is granted but the appeal against sentence is dismissed.