ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
Toronto Region
COURT FILE NO.: 11-10000815
DATE: 20120628
B E T W E E N:
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN
M. Humphrey and J. Bruno , for the prosecution
- and -
JOSEPH BLANDON
E. Sapiano, for the defence
HEARD: June 28, 2012
Nordheimer J. (orally):
[ 1 ] On April 5, 2012, Joseph Blandon pleaded guilty to one count of second degree murder and one count of attempted murder. At the time, an agreed statement of facts was read in. I do not consider it necessary to repeat all of the facts that are agreed to. A summary of those facts will be sufficient for the purposes of my reasons on sentence.
[ 2 ] On August 27, 2010, Mr. Blandon was with two friends. They had an unfriendly exchange with a group of three other males. After the exchange, Mr. Blandon and his friends discussed returning to a bar to confront the males that they had had the exchange with. Before doing so, Mr. Blandon and his friends went into a store where Mr. Blandon obtained two knives. He gave the knives to his two friends. Mr. Blandon was already armed with a knife.
[ 3 ] The three men went to the bar that was in the area of College and Lansdowne. They found the other three males and asked them to step outside. Outside of the bar, there was a verbal confrontation. Mr. Blandon was agitating for a fight to occur. Mr. Blandon made two invitations to other males to fight with him. They refused.
[ 4 ] The deceased, Nelson Carreira, left the same bar with a friend, Kevon Ferreira. Mr. Carriera saw the confrontation ongoing with Mr. Blandon but made it clear that he did not want a fight. Unfortunately, Mr. Ferriera swore at Mr. Blandon. Mr. Blandon asked if Mr. Ferriera wanted to fight and Mr. Ferriera said yes. Mr. Blandon then immediately pulled his knife from his back pocket and stabbed Mr. Ferriera twice. Mr. Carriera ran to his friend to assist. As he approached, Mr. Blandon stabbed Mr. Carriera twice – once in the chest and once in the stomach. The stab to the chest proved to be a fatal one.
[ 5 ] There is a joint submission that Mr. Blandon should be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 10 years on the attempted murder conviction. In terms of the conviction for second degree murder, the sentence is automatically one of life imprisonment but the period of parole ineligibility must still be set. On that issue, the Crown submitted that the parole ineligibility period should be set at 12 years. The defence submitted that the parole ineligibility period should be set at the minimum of 10 years.
[ 6 ] Before turning to the factors that I must consider on that issue, I wish to say something to the victims of these offences. I have victim impact statements prepared by the deceased’s parents, his aunt and three cousins. I also have a report from a physiotherapist regarding the impacts on Mr. Ferreira.
[ 7 ] All of these statements speak in very clear and moving terms to the terrible loss that these people have suffered, the emptiness that they now feel and the love that is now missing in their lives. The impact has been especially hard on the parents of the deceased but, as is so often the situation in cases of murder, the pain that a tragedy such as this occasions spreads far and wide and touches many different people.
[ 8 ] There is little that the legal process with the imposition of sentence can realistically do to lessen their loss, other than to hope that the pleas entered and the resolution of these charges will serve to provide some measure of closure to them.
Principles
[ 9 ] In terms of the parole ineligibility requirement, s. 745.4 of the Criminal Code directs me to set a period of parole ineligibility taking into account (1) the character of the offender, (2) the nature of the offence and (3) the circumstances surrounding the offence.
[ 10 ] In making my decision, I must also be guided by existing case law on the subject. Of particular importance in that regard is the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Shropshire , 1995 47 (SCC) , [1995] 4 S.C.R. 227. Certain principles can be drawn from that case including:
i. within second degree murder there is both a range of seriousness and varying degrees of moral culpability;
ii. deterrence, retribution and rehabilitation are all sentencing objectives to be considered in establishing the period of parole ineligibility;
iii. as a general rule, the period of parole ineligibility will be for 10 years;
iv. it is not necessary that unusual circumstances must be demonstrated before the judge may exercise his discretion to move above the ten years minimum and a decision to do so is not itself unusual.
[ 11 ] I have been referred to a number of other authorities by counsel. I do not consider it necessary to review those authorities in detail. They simply demonstrate that each case depends very much on its own facts and thus each case must be approached individually.
[ 12 ] Turning then to the criteria set out in s. 745.4 :
(1) the character of the offender
[ 13 ] Mr. Blandon is now twenty-one years old. He was nineteen years old at the time of the offence. Mr. Blandon has a youth record consisting of one conviction for carrying a concealed weapon, as it happens a knife, one count of assault and one count of failing to comply with a recognizance that also apparently involved the possession of knives.
[ 14 ] I have a pre-sentence report from 2009 regarding Mr. Blandon. It describes him as a well-behaved and quiet young man but one who is easily agitated and can react aggressively. Mr. Blandon suffers from a learning disability that inhibited his progress in school. As a consequence, Mr. Blandon has only some grade 9 and grade 10 credits. In addition, it appears that Mr. Blandon has problems with controlling his temper.
[ 15 ] Mr. Blandon has the support of his family and his common law wife. They have a three year old son. I recognize that Mr. Blandon did plead guilty and thus spared the surviving victim and the family of the deceased from having to relive these matters through a trial. Mr. Blandon has also expressed his sincere remorse for his actions today and through his guilty plea. In addition, of course, is the fact that Mr. Blandon is still a young man.
(2) the nature of the offence
[ 16 ] I have already described to some degree the nature of the offence. Mr. Blandon stabbed two individuals, one fatally. There is no evidence that Mr. Blandon was provoked into acting in such a manner. Rather, Mr. Blandon appears to have been the aggressor throughout the incident and to have almost gratuitously chosen to inflict harm on these two men. I also note that Mr. Blandon came to this incident already armed with a knife. This was not an impulsive act.
(3) the circumstances of the offence
[ 17 ] I have also already described the circumstances of the offence in general terms but two further aspects must be mentioned.
[ 18 ] One is that the two victims were strangers to Mr. Blandon. While there was an earlier dispute with others, it appears that Mr. Blandon chose to continue and escalate that dispute. The result was the death of one man and the serious injury of another. The other aspect is that this attack occurred on a public street.
[ 19 ] I have taken into account all of the matters that I have mentioned. In my view, the fact that this attack with a weapon occurred on unarmed strangers on a public street in the middle of the city are particularly aggravating factors that require, in order to properly achieve the objectives, principally of denunciation but also of deterrence, some increase in the period of parole ineligibility.
[ 20 ] Taking into consideration all of the factors that I have mentioned, I fix that period at twelve years. It should be remembered, of course, that the period being set simply establishes the earliest date that Mr. Blandon becomes eligible to apply for parole. The fact that parole may be sought does not, of course, mean that it will be granted. Whether and when parole is granted is where the decision moves to the Parole Board.
Mr. Blandon, will you please stand.
On the charge of attempted murder, I sentence you to ten years in prison.
On the charge of second degree murder, I sentence you to imprisonment for life without eligibility for parole for a period of twelve years.
The sentences are concurrent one to the other.
There will be an order requiring you to provide a DNA sample for the DNA databank.
There will also be the mandatory order under section 109 of the Criminal Code prohibiting you from the possession of weapons for life.
NORDHEIMER J.
Released: June 28, 2012
COURT FILE NO.: 11-10000815
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
B E T W E E N:
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN
- and -
JOSEPH BLANDON
REASONS FOR DECISION
NORDHEIMER J .
RELEASED: June 28, 2012