Paul Zambonini

The court considered whether Mohamed Siad should be designated a dangerous offender following a series of violent offences, primarily against intimate partners and family members.

After reviewing Siad’s history of escalating violence, repeated breaches of court orders, failed attempts at rehabilitation, and psychiatric evidence, the court found that Siad’s conduct was intractable and that he posed a high risk of future violence.

The court designated Siad a dangerous offender and imposed a global sentence of five years’ incarceration (after credit for pretrial custody), followed by a seven-year long-term supervision order, with ancillary orders including DNA and weapons prohibitions.

Joao Guimaraes was found in contempt of court for refusing to testify as a Crown witness at a preliminary inquiry.

Despite being cautioned, he repeatedly refused to answer questions, citing fear for his safety.

At the subsequent contempt hearing, he did testify and answered all questions.

The court considered the seriousness of contempt, emphasizing denunciation and deterrence, but also noted mitigating factors: Guimaraes' youth (23), lack of prior record, genuine fear, and the limited impact of his refusal on the preliminary hearing's outcome.

He had also been acquitted of the underlying firearms charges and had served 40 days (credited as 60 days) in pre-sentence custody for the contempt.

The court imposed a suspended sentence with six months of probation, finding the pre-sentence custody sufficient accountability given the unique circumstances.

Nicola Puddicombe, convicted of first-degree murder, applied for a reduction in her parole eligibility period under the "faint hope" clause (s. 745.6 of the Criminal Code).

The screening judge determined whether there was a reasonable prospect that a jury would reduce her parole ineligibility.

The court found that despite the cold-blooded nature of the murder and the applicant's initial denial of full responsibility, her significant progress in therapy, positive institutional conduct, and evolving insight into her role in the offence provided a reasonable likelihood of success before a jury.

The application to empanel a jury was granted.

Fazal Zaban was convicted of manslaughter after being acquitted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Dung Le during a drug and firearms deal.

The court considered aggravating factors, including Zaban's extensive criminal record involving violence and firearms, the use of a prohibited firearm in a public place, and his failure to be deterred by previous sentences.

Mitigating factors included his supportive family, efforts at rehabilitation while incarcerated (obtaining a high school diploma, taking courses), and the exceptionally harsh conditions of his pre-sentence custody, including prolonged lockdowns and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Crown sought a sentence of 15 years to life, while the defence sought 10 to 12 years.

The court imposed a sentence of 13 years' imprisonment, reduced from an initial assessment of 15 years due to the harsh pre-sentence custody conditions.

Zaban received credit for 7 years served, leaving 6 years remaining.

Mandatory lifetime weapons prohibition and DNA orders were also imposed.

Dayne Sitladeen was found guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of Blain Grindley.

The court considered aggravating factors including his extensive criminal record involving violence and firearms, his leadership role in the offence, and his flight to the United States where he continued criminal involvement.

Mitigating factors included some rehabilitative efforts in detention.

The court imposed a sentence of 13 years imprisonment, to be served consecutively to his unexpired U.S. sentence, along with a lifetime firearms prohibition and a DNA order.

The court emphasized denunciation and deterrence for firearm-related offences.

Alexander Clarke pleaded guilty to robbery with a firearm, unlawful confinement, and having his face masked with intent to commit an indictable offence.

This was his eighth robbery conviction, committed while on parole for previous robberies.

The Crown sought a long-term offender designation and a 10-year sentence followed by a 10-year long-term supervision order (LTSO).

Defence counsel agreed to the long-term offender designation but sought a 6.5-8 year sentence and a 3-5 year LTSO.

The court found Clarke to be a long-term offender, applying the "step principle" for repeat offenders, and sentenced him to a total of nine years imprisonment (with 56.25 months credit for presentence custody) and an eight-year LTSO.

The court emphasized the need for specific deterrence and public protection, while also acknowledging the offender's efforts at rehabilitation and expressing hope for his future.

The Crown brought an application to admit the accused's rap music videos and lyrics as prior discreditable conduct evidence in a first-degree murder trial.

The Crown sought to use the evidence to establish the accused's membership in a street gang and to provide a motive for the shooting.

The court dismissed the application, finding no evidence of a relationship between the deceased and the accused, nor any evidence that the deceased was involved in gang activity.

The court concluded that the lyrics were not relevant to an issue at trial and their prejudicial effect far outweighed any probative value.

Awaleh Ismail Hassan pleaded guilty to possession of a loaded restricted firearm contrary to s. 95(1) of the Criminal Code, stemming from a shootout where his friend was killed and he was injured.

The Crown sought a sentence of three years and six months imprisonment, while the defence requested a suspended sentence or time served.

The court considered the paramount principles of denunciation and deterrence for gun-related crimes, alongside significant mitigating factors including the accused's guilty plea, remorse, difficult background, lack of relevant criminal record, family support, and the harsh conditions of his pre-sentence custody, including medical neglect and the impact of anti-Black racism.

The court sentenced Mr. Hassan to two years less one day imprisonment, with enhanced credit for pre-sentence custody, resulting in one additional day of imprisonment followed by two years probation.

Ancillary orders included a lifetime weapon prohibition and a DNA order.

This decision addresses the admissibility of a photograph in a criminal trial for attempted murder and aggravated assault.

The Crown sought to admit a photograph alleged to depict the accused at the scene of a shooting, despite the defence's argument that it lacked authentication due to informer privilege and the absence of a direct authenticating witness.

The court ruled that the photograph was admissible, finding it had been authenticated by circumstantial evidence through comparison with other reliable video and photographic evidence.

Concerns regarding the photo's origin or potential tampering were deemed matters of weight for the trier of fact, not admissibility.

The accused, Kevin George, was sentenced for discharging a firearm with intent and failing to comply with a release order, stemming from a shooting at his child's birthday party where he fired six rounds, injuring two children and another man.

The court stayed aggravated assault convictions under the Kienapple principle.

The judge considered the serious aggravating factors, including the use of a handgun, the large number of people imperiled (especially children), the breach of bail, and the number of shots fired.

While acknowledging the devastating impact of the injuries, the court found that causation for the injuries was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt against the accused, thus not treating them as aggravating factors.

Mitigating factors included family support, employment efforts, youth, and the limited impact of race and social context on moral culpability.

The court imposed a sentence of 11 years in penitentiary, reduced by 10.5 months for pre-sentence custody, for a net sentence of 10 years, 1.5 months, to be served concurrently with a 12-month sentence for the bail breach.

The defendant, Adil Zeno, brought a Charter application to exclude video evidence from a cell phone, alleging breaches of his rights under sections 8, 9, and 10(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The court found that while there was a breach of the defendant's section 10(b) right to counsel due to an unreasonable delay, and accepted for the purpose of the application that there was a section 8 breach related to the search warrant for the cell phone, these breaches were not serious enough to warrant exclusion of the evidence under section 24(2) of the Charter.

The court found the police acted in good faith, and the evidence was reliable and relevant to the Crown's case.

The application to exclude evidence was denied.

Adil Zeno, convicted of accessory after the fact to murder, brought a post-verdict application for a stay of proceedings under ss. 7 and 24(1) of the Charter, alleging abuse of process by the Crown.

The alleged abuse primarily related to a separate murder prosecution and the Crown's position on bail.

The court dismissed the application, finding that the alleged misconduct was not related to the current proceeding and that alternative remedies, such as seeking damages in the other proceeding, were available.

The court emphasized that a stay of proceedings is a drastic remedy reserved for the 'clearest of cases' and that impugned conduct must be related to the proceeding before the court.

This is a sentencing decision for Salman Ahmed, who was convicted of second-degree murder.

The primary issue was determining the period of parole ineligibility, which carries a mandatory life sentence with a general 10-year ineligibility period, extendable up to 25 years under s. 745.4 of the Criminal Code.

The Crown sought 25 years, while the defence argued for 12 years.

The court considered the jury's recommendation (which was given little weight), the violent nature and circumstances of the carjacking and murder, and the offender's character, including his youth, first-time offender status, and challenging background, balanced against his poor conduct in custody.

The court ultimately imposed a life sentence with parole ineligibility set at 18 years, emphasizing deterrence and denunciation due to the use of firearms and forcible confinement.

The defendant, Adil Zeno, was convicted of being an accessory after the fact to murder.

This decision outlines the reasons for his sentence.

The court considered aggravating factors such as his criminal record, lack of coercion, and the compounding of victim suffering, and mitigating factors including his youth and efforts towards rehabilitation.

The Crown sought a sentence of 4-5 years, while the defence sought 18-24 months.

The court imposed a sentence of three and a half years, which was covered by the 44 months of pre-sentence custody, resulting in a sentence of one day in jail in addition to time served.

A 10-year prohibition order and a DNA order were also imposed, but probation was denied.

The defendant, Faisal Fareed, brought an application to exclude a loaded handgun from evidence, alleging breaches of his Charter rights under sections 8, 9, 10(a), and 10(b).

The court found that while the initial detention and seizure of the gun were lawful, there were breaches related to the delay in informing Fareed of the grounds for detention (s. 10(a)), and significant delays in implementing his right to counsel of choice (s. 10(b)).

Additionally, the police failed to file a report to a justice of the peace regarding the seized items, constituting a breach of section 8.

Applying the R. v. Grant factors, the court determined that admitting the evidence would not bring the administration of justice into disrepute, particularly as the breaches occurred after the lawful seizure and did not impact the reliability of the evidence.

The application to exclude the evidence was dismissed.

The applicant applied for certiorari to quash his committal for trial on a charge of first degree murder and substitute a charge of second degree murder.

He argued there was no evidence of forcible confinement or that he was a party to it.

The Superior Court of Justice dismissed the application, finding that the preliminary inquiry judge made no jurisdictional error.

There was some evidence upon which a properly instructed jury could find that the victim was forcibly confined by an unidentified man acting in concert with the applicant during the shooting.

Kevin George was charged with 14 criminal offences following a shootout at his child's birthday party.

The court found him guilty of discharging a firearm with intent at Demar Cadogan and Tianna Green, aggravated assault on Demar Cadogan and Tianna Green, and failing to comply with a release order.

He was found not guilty of attempted murder, other discharge firearm/aggravated assault counts, and firearm possession charges due to insufficient evidence regarding party liability, specific intent to kill, or proof of firearm type/licensing.

The court extensively analyzed circumstantial evidence for identity and the principles of party liability.

Sentencing of two co-accused following a judge-alone trial.

The first accused, a repeat offender with a lengthy record, was convicted of multiple firearms offences, assault with a weapon, drug trafficking, and driving offences.

After applying the Kienapple rule to stay several duplicative counts, the court sentenced him to a total of 10 years in custody.

The second accused, who had a limited record and demonstrated significant rehabilitation, was convicted of being an occupant in a vehicle with a firearm and possession of cocaine.

The court sentenced the second accused to an 18-month conditional sentence.

The accused faced multiple firearms, driving, and drug charges arising from two incidents in August 2019.

In the first incident, one accused threatened his ex-girlfriend with a handgun.

In the second, both accused were found in a vehicle and residence where a loaded handgun and cocaine were seized.

At trial, two key Crown witnesses recanted their prior statements to police, prompting the Crown to successfully apply under s. 9(2) of the Canada Evidence Act to cross-examine them.

The court found the first accused guilty of multiple firearms offences, assault with a weapon, uttering threats, driving while prohibited, and possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

The second accused was found guilty of occupying a motor vehicle knowing there was a firearm and simple possession of cocaine.

The accused, charged with armed robbery and related offences, brought a second application to review his detention order, alleging material changes in circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic and potential unreasonable delay under s. 11(b) of the Charter.

The court found that the detention centre had effectively managed the virus and the accused failed to show an increased risk of contracting COVID-19.

Furthermore, the court held that the potential delay was largely attributable to the defence and did not constitute a material change that would have affected the initial bail decision.

The application was dismissed, and the accused remained detained on the secondary and tertiary grounds.