Victoria Palermo

The court sentenced Emmanuel Kitenge, who pled guilty to manslaughter and failing to stop for police, for his role as a getaway driver in a fatal shooting.

The decision reviews the circumstances of the offence, the impact on the victim’s family, the offender’s background, and the applicable sentencing principles.

After considering aggravating and mitigating factors, including Kitenge’s youth, lack of criminal record, difficult upbringing, and significant rehabilitative efforts, the court imposed a sentence of 6.5 years less one day for manslaughter (with credit for pre-sentence custody), a concurrent nine-month sentence for failing to stop for police, probation, and ancillary orders.

The court sentenced Daniel Thompson, a youthful first offender, for trafficking in cocaine, possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, and possessing a loaded restricted firearm.

The decision reviews the circumstances of the offences, Mr. Thompson’s personal background, the positions of the parties, and the applicable sentencing principles and ranges.

After weighing aggravating and mitigating factors—including Mr. Thompson’s youth, lack of record, remorse, and the impact of anti-Black racism—the court imposed a global sentence of 30 months’ imprisonment, concurrent on all counts, with credit for pre-sentence custody, and issued ancillary orders.

The applicant, Daniel Thompson, brought a motion under s. 24(2) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to exclude evidence obtained during the execution of a search warrant at 124 Cadillac Crescent, Brampton, alleging a s. 8 Charter infringement due to insufficient reasonable grounds for the warrant.

The court reviewed the Information to Obtain (ITO), considering alleged omissions and misrepresentations by the affiant.

The court found that despite a minor omission regarding the applicant's post-buy travels, the ITO contained sufficient credible and reliable evidence, including MTO records, vehicle registration, and surveillance, to establish reasonable and probable grounds for the warrant.

The court relied on the affiant's detailed experience in drug investigations and reasonable inferences drawn from the evidence.

The application to exclude evidence was dismissed, as no Charter violation was found.

Shaqueme Martin applied to dismiss human trafficking and sexual services charges under s. 11(b) of the Charter, alleging unreasonable delay.

The total delay from charges to the original trial date was 1028 days, exceeding the Jordan ceiling.

The court found that the delay after September 19, 2022, was attributable to the defence's refusal of an available trial date, which would have brought the total delay within the presumptive ceiling.

Consequently, the presumption of unreasonable delay did not arise.

The court also found that the case was not a "clear case" warranting a stay below the presumptive ceiling, as the overall delay was not "markedly" longer than it should have been.

The application was dismissed.

The offender pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, pointing a firearm, and multiple firearms possession offences after assaulting a bystander and brandishing a handgun outside a hotel.

The Crown sought a global sentence of 6 years, while the defence sought 5 to 5.5 years and argued for a time-served sentence based on enhanced credit for harsh pre-sentence custody conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The court found a global sentence of 6 years was appropriate given the gravity of the offences, but reduced the sentence to time served (equivalent to 5 years and 1 month) after applying enhanced credit for pre-sentence custody and harsh conditions, followed by probation.