R. v. Moxley-Peters (L.P.), 2013 ABPC 249

• Judge: Groves, P.C.J.
• Court: Provincial Court of Alberta (Canada)
• Case Date: September 25, 2013
• Citations: 2013 ABPC 249;(2013), 571 A.R. 65 (PC)

R. v. Moxley-Peters (L.P.) (2013), 571 A.R. 65 (PC)

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2013] A.R. TBEd. OC.027

Her Majesty the Queen v. Lamarr Phillip Moxley-Peters (accused)

(120931712P1; 2013 ABPC 249)

Indexed As: R. v. Moxley-Peters (L.P.)

Alberta Provincial Court

Groves, P.C.J.

September 25, 2013.

Summary:

The accused pled guilty to one count of trafficking in ketamine and one count of possession of ketamine for the purpose of trafficking.

The Alberta Provincial Court sentenced the accused to 27 months' imprisonment.

Criminal Law - Topic 5830.8

Sentencing - Considerations on imposing sentence - Drug and narcotic offences - [See Criminal Law - Topic 5850 ].

Criminal Law - Topic 5846.5

Sentencing - Considerations on imposing sentence - Sentence precedents (incl. starting point principle) - [See Criminal Law - Topic 5850 ].

Criminal Law - Topic 5850

Sentence - Trafficking in a narcotic or a controlled drug or substance (incl. possession for the purpose of trafficking) - The accused sold two grams of ketamine to an undercover officer for $120 - Later that same day, he sold three grams of ketamine to an undercover officer for $180 - Police searched the accused's residence and found 252 grams of ketamine divided into nine individually packaged baggies with a street value of $14,400 - The accused pled guilty to one count of trafficking in ketamine and one count of possession of ketamine for the purpose of trafficking - An expert opined that given the quantity and packaging of ketamine found in the accused's residence, he was a mid-level supplier rather than a wholesaler - Defence counsel argued that the fact that the accused himself sold to an undercover officer on two occasions suggested that he was a dial-a-doper - The Alberta Provincial Court found that the large quantity of drugs in the accused's possession indicated that he was trusted by his supplier and was higher up in the chain of command than a typical low-level trafficker involved in a dial-a-dope operation - The accused's degree of responsibility fell at the high end of the moral culpability scale - Because ketamine was similar in chemical structure to phencyclidine and phencyclidine was analogous to cocaine in degree of seriousness, the starting point for sentencing was three years - The court subtracted nine months for mitigating factors (no prior criminal record, guilty plea, young age, and author of pre-sentence report was supportive of a community based disposition), leaving a net sentence of 27 months' imprisonment.

Cases Noticed:

R. v. Maskell (1981), 29 A.R. 107; 1981 ABCA 50, refd to. [para. 10].

R. v. Ostertag (T.K.) (2000), 266 A.R. 57; 228 W.A.C. 57; 2000 ABCA 232, refd to. [para. 12].

R. v. Nowak, [1994] A.W.L.D. 746; 1994 CarswellAlta 1047, refd to. [para. 18].

R. v. Gardiner, [1982] 2 S.C.R. 368; 43 N.R. 361, refd to. [para. 20].

R. v. Rahime (S.) et al. (2001), 286 A.R. 377; 253 W.A.C. 377; 2001 ABCA 203, refd to. [para. 21].

R. v. McCulloch (K.A.), [2011] A.R. Uned. 92; 2011 ABCA 124, refd to. [para. 22].

R. v. Marchesi (R.J.) (2009), 460 A.R. 294; 462 W.A.C. 294; 2009 ABCA 304, refd to. [para. 22].

R. v. Lau (W.T.) (2004), 357 A.R. 312; 334 W.A.C. 312; 2004 ABCA 408, refd to. [para. 25].

R. v. Ferguson (L.J.), [2005] A.R. Uned. 318; 2005 ABPC 37, refd to. [para. 29].

R. v. McCrae (T.) (2003), 336 A.R. 29 (Prov. Ct.), refd to. [para. 30].

R. v. Ismael (T.), [2012] A.R. Uned. 779; 2012 ABPC 284, refd to. [para. 31].

R. v. Tran (W.D.B.) (2010), 490 A.R. 229; 497 W.A.C. 229; 2010 ABCA 317, refd to. [para. 32].

R. v. Hennessey (S.W.) et al. (2010), 490 A.R. 35; 497 W.A.C. 35; 2010 ABCA 274, refd to. [para. 32].

R. v. J.L.M.A. (2010), 499 A.R. 1; 514 W.A.C. 1; 2010 ABCA 363, refd to. [para. 32].

R. v. Martin, 2011 ONCJ 423, refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. Paper, 2010 ONCJ 88, refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. Kelly, 2009 ONCJ 667, refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. Wong (A.S.), [2012] O.A.C. Uned. 629; 2012 ONCA 767, refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. Fraser (T.D.) (2009), 269 B.C.A.C. 200; 453 W.A.C. 200; 2009 BCCA 179, refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. Clark (D.D.), [2008] A.R. Uned. 757; 2008 ABPC 371, refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. Basarowich (C.J.) (2010), 250 Man.R.(2d) 114; 2010 MBQB 42, refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. Kwok et al., 2013 BCPC 53, refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. Choi (C.-Y.), [2013] O.T.C. Uned. 5082; 2013 ONSC 5082, refd to. [para. 34].

R. v. Normandeau et al. (1975), 10 N.B.R.(2d) 687; 4 A.P.R. 687 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 36].

R. v. Ghazarian (G.) (2004), 358 A.R. 240; 2004 ABPC 68, refd to. [para. 39].

R. v. Blais (D.A.), [2009] A.R. Uned. 201; 2009 ABQB 103, refd to. [para. 40].

R. v. Lecompte (W.), [2012] O.T.C. Uned. 2170; 2012 ONSC 2170, refd to. [para. 41].

R. v. Mohamed (S.), [2012] A.R. Uned. 173; 2012 ABCA 222, refd to. [para. 42].

R. v. Marshall (M.G.) (2012), 524 A.R. 297; 545 W.A.C. 297; 2012 ABCA 160, refd to. [para. 43].

R. v. Grant (I.M.) (2007), 216 Man.R.(2d) 219; 2007 MBQB 135, affd. (2009), 236 Man.R.(2d) 54; 448 W.A.C. 54; 240 C.C.C.(3d) 462; 2009 MBCA 9, leave to appeal refused (2009), 398 N.R. 397; 243 C.C.C.(3d) vi (S.C.C.), refd to. [para. 55].

R. v. Au (S.Y.) (2006), 233 B.C.A.C. 135; 386 W.A.C. 135; 215 C.C.C.(3d) 388; 2006 BCCA 533, refd to. [para. 56].

R. v. Lee (J.A.) (2007), 425 A.R. 21; 418 W.A.C. 21; 2007 ABCA 288, refd to. [para. 71].

R. v. Conyers (R.), [2010] A.R. Uned. 610; 2010 ABQB 520, refd to. [para. 71].

R. v. Pham (L.A.) (2011), 527 A.R. 358; 2011 ABQB 647, refd to. [para. 71].

R. v. Ma (H.) (2003), 330 A.R. 142; 299 W.A.C. 142; 177 C.C.C.(3d) 535 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 73].

Authors and Works Noticed:

Armstrong, Simon, Sentencing Drug Offenders (2004) (Looseleaf May 2012), pp. 3-8, para. 3:300.20.10 [paras. 26, 54]; 3-9, para. 3:300.20.10 [para. 27]; 5-24 [paras. 16, 61]; 5-25 [para. 16].

MacFarlane, Bruce A., Frater, Robert J., and Proulx, Chantal, Drug Offences in Canada (3rd Ed. 1996), p. 29-12, para. 29.700 [paras. 28, 56].

Counsel:

J. Bialowas, for the Crown;

D. Bottos, for the accused.

This matter was heard before Groves, P.C.J., of the Alberta Provincial Court, who delivered the following sentencing reasons at Edmonton, Alberta, on September 25, 2013.