R. v. Horan, 2012 NSSC 223

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NOVA SCOTIA Citation: R. v. Horan, 2012 NSSC 223 Date: 2012/06/06 Docket: CrSP.390984 Registry: Pictou Between: Her Majesty the Queen v. Edward Anthony Horan D E C I S I O N SENTENCE Judge: The Honourable Justice J. E. Scanlan Heard: June 6 th , 2012 in Pictou, Nova Scotia Written Decision: June 12, 2012 Counsel: Bronwyn Duffy, for the Federal Crown Patrick Young, for the Provincial Crown Stephen Robertson, for the Defendant By the Court : [ 1 ] Drugs are part of the worst part of our society today.

They have people steal for them, people hurt other people for them, they wreck their families, they wreck their lives. We hear that in places in this province they even shoot one another because of drugs now. For a person like you who is thirty nine, almost forty years old, you come to this court and offer up an apology, saying you are getting to old for this. I do not know if you are to old for the drugs or to old for the jail. I am not sure which it is that you are

suggesting, but to think that you would have drugs to sell to other people is probably about as despicable as you can imagine because you, yourself, know what it can do to you and your family. Yet you decide to possess ... [ 2 ] Edward Horan : inaudible [ 3 ] Court : ... you do not have to speak now. [ 4 ] Edward Horan : Sorry [ 5 ] Yet you possess and sell drugs to other people who sell them and who, no doubt, will get on that same treadmill that you ’ re on. They destroy their lives and their families lives too. Where does it end? Does is end with the user? Does it end with the seller? For you Mr.

Horan it ends with the Court, at least for the next six months. You will be removed from the market both as a buyer and a seller. [ 6 ] I can tell you Mr. Horan were this not a joint recommendation on sentence and had you been convicted on all these offences, you would not be looking at six months in a Provincial Institution. You would be looking at doing some serious Federal time. Six months would pale in comparison to what your exposure was in this series of charges. [ 7 ] Like I said, the reason is because drugs are one of the worst aspects of our modern society.

It wrecks more peoples lives than anything else that I know. [ 8 ] You have three children, one of them is twenty years old, two of them are in elementary school and you have a grandchild. You have a house with ten people in it. The suggestion is that people were coming to your house to buy drugs. You deny that and that is what I accept as part of my sentencing. But what are you doing? What are you thinking if you do stuff like that? Have your kids been watching you, learning how to sell drugs? Every kid sitting watching, thinking it is okay if Dad consumes drugs, or anybody else in that house.

Not much of a trade for your kids, for your grand kids. What path does it put them on? A road to destruction. They will be sitting here in another twenty years, probably still in front of me, and I will be sending them to jail for the first time, or second time, or third time. [ 9 ] If you are serious about this, if nothing else, tackle this problem for your kids, even if you do not tackle it for yourself. If you continue to consume drugs, hard or soft, you will be back here. A labourer cannot afford to buy drugs, he can hardly afford to feed his family if he works full time.

A person on social assistance cannot afford to buy drugs. You can only do it if you buy and sell them. So you will be back if you do not beat this problem. You will be back, and if it is in front of me, if you are convicted of offences like what you were facing here today, I have already warned you, I cannot imagine any other Judge in this Court not sending you away for a long, long time. You might find that you get to retire in prison. [ 10 ] The sentence I impose has to express to both you and to the community at large, denunciation and deterrence.

In other words, people have to look at this sentence and understand that, number one, the court will not tolerate it and, number two, if you get caught and get sentenced we will treat you harshly. If not for the joint recommendation you would be treated much harder then what is going to be imposed here today. [ 11 ] The period of custody proposed is secure custody. In other words, you do not get to serve it in the community. That is totally appropriate given the nature of the offences. [ 12 ] I take into account that there was a guilty plea.

Granted it was not at the earliest opportunity, but it was a guilty plea. [ 13 ] You did not have a huge quantity of controlled substances but you had enough. You co-operated with the search. I guess most

people co-operate when you have a house load of police coming in with search warrants but you did co-operate. [ 14 ] You have a record and you were under terms of a Court order and you breached that Court order. Certainly to think that we could release you in the community, under any circumstances, and expect that you are going to obey the terms of a release order is a question mark. [ 15 ] Part of the sentence recommendation is a period of probation.

I can tell you that if you breach that probation in any way, shape, or form, given the seriousness of these charges, and how the probation order comes to be, the Court I expect would probably treat it very, very seriously. Especially in light of your record. People when they breach probation orders early on, first time, sometimes do not get treated very harshly but the more often you breach them the harder you get treated. During the six months in prison, plus the two years on probation, you better learn to do things differently. [ 16 ] The recommendation is a period of six months imprisonment.

I am prepared to accept the recommendation of six months imprisonment on the two Controlled Drugs and Substances convictions. They will be concurrent to one another counsel but consecutive to the existing sentences that he is serving. In addition to the six months, I impose a thirty day sentence on the breach, concurrent to the two Controlled Drugs and Substances sentences that are being imposed. The totality of imprisonment is six months. [ 17 ] It will be followed by two years on probation.

You will be subject to the mandatory conditions of a probation order; keep the peace and be of good behaviour, report to and be under the supervision of Adult Probation Services, stay in the Province of Nova Scotia, not possess or use any controlled drugs and substances other than prescriptions that are prescribed for you. In other words, you cannot be in possession of anybody else ’ s prescription. There will be no use or possession, as I said, of any controlled drugs or substances. You will stay away from the place of residence and persons of Mr. Eddie and Mr. Warrington.

You will not associate with anyone with a criminal record, with convictions under the Criminal Code , Youth Criminal Justice Act , Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, and the Young Offenders Act . You will take such treatment as recommended by Adult Probation Services including substance abuse programs.

You will comply with any demand for a sample of your urine upon the request of Adult Probation Services. [ 18 ] In addition there will be a ten year prohibition on you having possession of any firearms, ammunition or explosives including cross-bows as well as a lifetime prohibition of possession of restricted weapons. [ 19 ] Court : Anything else counsel? [ 20 ] Provincial Crown : Not from the Provincial Crown. [ 21 ] Federal Crown : No, No My Lord . [ 22 ] Defence Counsel : No My Lord [ 23 ] Court: Good, Thank you. I wish you luck Mr. Horan, you ’ re going to need it. [ 24 ] Edward Horan : Thank you your Honour.

Scanlan, J.