Ryan Durran

The appellant appealed his sentence for mischief under $5000 after pleading guilty to vandalizing an 87-year-old woman's vehicle.

The sentencing judge imposed a suspended sentence with 12 months of probation, rejecting the appellant's request for a conditional discharge.

On appeal, the appellant argued the judge failed to apply the principle of restraint.

The Superior Court dismissed the appeal, finding no error in principle and holding that the sentence was fit and within the judge's discretion given the need for denunciation.

The Crown sought to qualify a police detective as an expert witness on outlaw motorcycle gangs, specifically the Hells Angels and Red Devils, in a trial where the accused allegedly attempted to forcibly remove a victim's gang-related tattoo.

The defence opposed the qualification, arguing the evidence was unnecessary, unreliable, and the officer lacked proper qualifications.

The court applied the Mohan criteria and found the officer was properly qualified based on her extensive experience.

The court ruled her evidence on gang structure and culture was necessary, but excluded her proposed testimony interpreting text messages and her evidence on tattoo removal practices that relied on inherently suspect hearsay.

The applicant, charged with drug trafficking and firearms offences, brought an application under s. 8 of the Charter challenging tracking warrants and telewarrants executed on a vehicle and his temporary residence.

The court found the tracking warrants and the telewarrant for the vehicle were validly issued, and a minor post-seizure reporting breach did not warrant exclusion of the evidence found in the vehicle under s. 24(2).

However, the court found there were insufficient grounds to issue the telewarrant for the residence, constituting a serious Charter breach, and excluded the evidence seized from the residence.