Arguing a Saskatchewan judge fumbled when he used potential pot legalization to justify giving a break to a former university football player caught with 21 pounds of marijuana, the Crown wants jail. "The new (pending) legislation does not mean all things marijuana are now legal," federal prosecutor Wade McBride said Thursday before the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal. The lawyer representing Seamus John Neary not only defended his client's sentence of probation, but took a second kick at a charter of rights argument. He contends a law prohibiting a conditional sentence for such a crime is cruel and unusual punishment - especially given the current government's stance regarding pot. [continues 419 words]
Homicides, shooting linked to groups bringing drugs, guns into Regina Police believe at least two Regina homicides and a shooting in a crowded restaurant are among the fallout from an increasingly violent threat posed by outsiders bringing guns and drugs into the city. The Mounties and Regina Police Service joined forces to roll out the unwelcome mat for the unwanted guests, recently concluding a 90-day project targeting drug trafficking as well as the weapons and shootings that accompany the trade. What it revealed is that many of the 60 people arrested on 443 charges, including trafficking, possession of stolen property, and multiple weapons offences, aren't from here. They dropped in from locales such as Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, Fort McMurray and Toronto. [continues 526 words]
The story was told by the brown sugar-like substance spilled on the nightstand, the straws that lay on top, and the hotel key card with traces of the same crushed crystals along its edges. Silent was the corpse lying nearby. Inside that nightstand was $1,200 cash, mostly bound by a rubber band. Another $3,750 lay loose in the top drawer of the television stand. The rest - $21,980 - was bundled in a vacuum-sealed bag. An iPhone lay under the body, and a Samsung phone was on the floor. [continues 1308 words]
REGINA - In the world of drug deals, this one, made on a street corner in Regina's inner city, was small - $60 for two prescription pills - but its impact was big. Less Breaking Bad and more making a tad, the low level deal gave way to a high court ruling that helped shape a Saskatchewan law that has required people to forfeit more than $2 million in cash, vehicles and real estate. "You want to capture those resources that are tainted by crime and make them unavailable for future use," explains Tammy Pryznyk, a Justice Ministry lawyer on the front lines of the Seizure of Criminal Property Act. [continues 968 words]
Pot Dealer's $400k Cash Big Gain for Forfeiture Law The pickup truck rolled to a stop. Its precious cargo - two safes holding heaps of mostly $20 bills - was on the back seat. Shaun Munro wanted to come clean about his dirty money. After stopping his truck outside the Saskatoon Police Service station, Munro crossed the street and walked through the front door. He was there to a report a crime. For years, he had made his living selling pot, Munro confessed. And now the 42-year-old wanted to hand over the proceeds of those criminal deals. [continues 2229 words]
What's prison like for a former Regina jail guard who crosses the line from keeper to kept? The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal recently got a glimpse into Brent Miles Taylor's life behind bars as it weighs legal arguments in a Crown appeal to boost his five-year prison sentence for drug smuggling. "As a former jail guard, Brent faces unique challenges at the penitentiary from both staff and inmates," his lawyers said in documents filed with the appeal court. "Because he effectively has a target on his back, he has spent much of his time in segregation," they add. [continues 670 words]
Taylor to remain free until sentencing After his arrest on charges of smuggling drugs to inmates, then-jail guard Brent Miles Taylor told the RCMP one of his biggest fears was his Regina Correctional Centre colleagues seeing him in the facility. With a jury finding him guilty Wednesday on 14 charges, it's likely the 50-year-old ex-guard will be on the inside looking out when he does return to corrections. For now, Taylor remains free pending his July 18 sentencing. "We're certainly looking at a significant period of incarceration," Crown prosecutor Doug Curliss said. [continues 837 words]
If a trial probing an alleged drug smuggling ring at the Regina Correctional Centre has demonstrated anything, it's the ingenuity of desperate men. From drug slang to how-to lessons for packing contraband, evidence presented at the trial for former jail guard Brent Miles Taylor has given a behind-the-scenes glimpse into what goes on within the jail's walls and what occupies the minds of many inmates. Perhaps defence witness Dan Yandon, a retired jail supervisor, put it best: "They have 24 hours a day to think about ways of bringing things in." [continues 882 words]
A Regina man who launched - and lost - the first challenge to a Saskatchewan law that seizes property used in criminal acts contends the courts have given the province "a licence to steal." "Can you imagine having $50 worth of weed and you just bought a brand new $20,000 car - well then they should take it because the circumstances can't be any different," David Wayne Mihalyko said in an interview on Monday. He was reacting to last week's ruling by the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, which ordered him to forfeit his 1998 Chev Blazer, worth about $7,500. He was driving it the night he sold two of his prescription pills for $60. [continues 504 words]
Fatal for Man in Moose Jaw Tainted ecstasy linked to more than a dozen deaths in B.C. and Alberta has now proven fatal for a Moose Jaw man. It is Saskatchewan's first confirmed case of the deadly drug that's been laced with a highly toxic chemical, prompting a public alert Wednesday by the province's Office of the Chief Coroner and the Moose Jaw Police Service. "You're gambling when you're taking ecstasy," Chief Coroner Kent Stewart said in an interview. [continues 788 words]
The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal says an Estevan area man, who had a licence to grow and use marijuana, was not a victim of police entrapment. Allowing a Crown appeal, the province's top court directed that Darcy Germain, 43, be convicted of two counts of trafficking and sent him back to the lower court for sentencing. Germain was one of 28 people charged in December 2009 as part of a lengthy investigation targeting drug trafficking in Estevan and area. But unlike most of those accused, Germain had a medical licence allowing him to produce and use pot for his chronic pain. Acting on an anonymous tip that Germain was selling his homegrown pot out of his Alida home, two undercover operators showed up one day in November 2009 and made a buy after requesting some "green." [continues 362 words]
In the wake of a rash of deaths linked to the street drug ecstasy in B.C. and Alberta, Saskatchewan RCMP has issued a warning in hopes of heading off any problems here. No such deaths have been reported in Saskatchewan to date, RCMP said. However, knowing that drugs don't stop at provincial or international borders, RCMP in this province opted to issue a public warning. "Just like people, drugs can be pretty transient - so best to err on the side of caution," RCMP spokesman Sgt. Paul Dawson said. [continues 375 words]
In the wake of a rash of deaths linked to the street drug ecstasy in B.C. and Alberta, Saskatchewan RCMP have issued a warning in hopes of heading off any problems here. No such deaths have been reported in Saskatchewan to date, RCMP said. However, knowing drugs don't stop at provincial or international borders, RCMP in this province opted to issue a public warning. "Just like people, drugs can be pretty transient - so best to err on the side of caution," RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Paul Dawson said. [continues 372 words]
Should a Regina man be forced to forfeit a $7,500 truck if it was used in a $60 drug deal? The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal is wrestling with that issue as it mulls over the first legal challenge to the Saskatchewan Seizure of Criminal Property Act. The law, which took effect July 1, 2009, was created with the goal of seizing property and cash from illegal activities and using the proceeds to fund victims programs and policing operations. Since then, the province has collected about $502,000 in cash and property. Most people just hand over the goods without a fight, but David Wayne Mihalyko was the first to actually legally fend off the application. [continues 594 words]
Prosecutor Troubled by Those Saying Shooting Was Justified The defence believes Kim Joseph Walker should not spend another day behind bars, but the Crown says only a lengthy prison term can convey the message that vigilante justice will not be tolerated. Court of Queen's Bench Justice Ellen Gunn will have the final say July 13, when she's expected to sentence the 54-year-old Yorkton man. Gunn heard sentencing submissions Friday - a day after the seven-man, five-woman jury pronounced Walker not guilty of second-degree murder, but guilty of manslaughter. Walker, who had been out on bail, was taken into custody after that verdict. [continues 679 words]
While the defence believes Kim Joseph Walker should not spend another day behind bars, the Crown says only a lengthy prison term can convey the message that vigilante justice will not be tolerated. Court of Queen's Bench Justice Ellen Gunn will have the final say July 13, when she's expected to sentence the 54-year-old Yorkton man. Gunn heard sentencing submissions Friday - a day after the seven-man, five-woman jury pronounced Walker not guilty of second-degree murder, but guilty of manslaughter. Walker, who had been out on bail, was taken into custody after that verdict. [continues 685 words]
Before he left court in handcuffs following a manslaughter conviction, Kim Joseph Walker hugged his daughter, whose boyfriend he killed, and told her and other family members to "be strong." "I'll be OK," the 54-year-old husband and father told them after the verdict Thursday evening. "Everything will be alright." But for the family of the man he gunned down, the trial's outcome was far from right. "The legal system in Canada is a joke," a clearly agitated Dan Hayward, brother of the victim James Hayward, told reporters. "I'm completely disgusted right now. It just goes to show the gullibility of people. And that you can trespass in a man's house and shoot him five times in front of everybody and it doesn't matter," he said. "I'm serving a life sentence without my brother because of him," he added. [continues 719 words]
Manslaughter Conviction Fuels Tension Between Opposing Sides Before he left court in handcuffs following a manslaughter conviction, Kim Joseph Walker hugged his daughter, whose boyfriend he killed, and told her and other family members to "be strong." "I'll be OK," the 54-year-old husband and father told them after the verdict Thursday evening. "Everything will be all right." But for the family of the man he gunned down, the trial's outcome was far from right. "The legal system in Canada is a joke," a clearly agitated Dan Hayward, brother of the victim James Hayward, told reporters. [continues 767 words]
Six suburban Regina and area houses that were once part of a potentially multi-milliondollar marijuana business will soon be growing the federal government's coffers. While most of the former owners now reside behind bars for their role in the illegal enterprise, their properties were forfeited Wednesday to the Crown as proceeds of crime. Crown prosecutor Craig Neely said the houses will be sold, any outstanding debts for mortgages, maintenance, taxes or utilities will be paid, and the remaining money will go to the federal government. [continues 721 words]
Six suburban Regina and area houses that were once part of a potentially multimillion-dollar marijuana business will soon be growing the federal government's coffers. While most of the former owners now reside behind bars for their role in the illegal enterprise, their properties were forfeited Wednesday to the Crown as proceeds of crime. Crown prosecutor Craig Neely said the houses will be sold, any outstanding debts for mortgages, maintenance, taxes or utilities will be paid and the remaining money will go to the federal government. [continues 719 words]
