Pubdate: Sat, 27 May 2006
Source: Saturday Okanagan,  The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2006 Saturday Okanagan
Contact:  http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1206
Author: Don Plant
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

NO DEAL FOR CONVICTED COCAINE DEALER

A Kelowna judge threw the book at a cocaine dealer Friday, more than 
doubling the sentence recommended by lawyers.

Judge Jane Cartwright said drug activity has forced Kelowna residents to 
avoid parts of the downtown area. She sentenced Robert John Andres to two 
years less a day in jail, a far stiffer penalty than the eight months Crown 
and defence lawyers suggested in their joint submission.

"Crack cocaine . . . makes part of downtown Kelowna unsuitable for average 
citizens," Cartwright said. "The joint submission is inadequate . . . and 
will make no difference to Mr. Andres' behaviour."

It was the first time in Cartwright's 11 years on the bench that she 
departed from a sentence lawyers jointly recommended, she said. Andres, who 
appeared in court by video link from the Kamloops jail, hung his head, but 
said nothing.

Police caught the 31-year-old coke addict driving a car in Kelowna with two 
passengers on April 25. One of them was dealing crack from the vehicle.

Officers searched Andres at the side of the road. They found 14.5 grams 
(half an ounce) of cocaine worth $500 in one sock and $355 in the other. He 
carried a cellphone -- contrary to a probation order stemming from a 
previous conviction -- and police found drug paraphernalia in the car.

Crown counsel Murray Ross said the eight-month sentence was appropriate 
because Andres pleaded guilty soon after his arrest and police effectively 
strip-searched him outside the car, which could be a breach of his rights 
under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Cartwright rejected the argument, saying Andres had flagrantly ignored 
conditions of his probation. He failed to check in with his probation 
officer in March after serving a four-month jail term, he was caught with 
the cellphone and ignored an order to stay out of downtown on May 10.

Andres has 22 prior convictions, including two counts of trafficking last year.

"Mr. Andres needs something to stop him. A longer separation from the 
street may assist him," Cartwright said.

Wayne Jennings, defending, said he'll ask Legal Services to appeal the 
sentence, assuming Andres agrees. Cartwright's main message, he said, is 
that cocaine trafficking has a greater impact on smaller cities like 
Kelowna than Vancouver.

"She's looking at this through the lens of Kelowna's dynamics and the 
disproportionate impact drug trafficking has on the community," Jennings said.

Ross said the judge is serving notice to other drug dealers that the stakes 
are higher.

"It looks like judges are taking a harder stance when it comes to 
trafficking in the community here," he said. "Even a couple of blocks in 
downtown Kelowna is a major portion of the city compared to a couple of 
blocks in Vancouver."
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