Pubdate: Tue, 27 Oct 2009
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2009 Times Colonist
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/letters.html
Website: http://www.timescolonist.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
Author: Louise Dickson, Staff Writer

MAN WITH NO HANDS AVOIDS JAIL TIME

A Victoria man with no hands who ingested $204,000 worth of heroin and
smuggled it into Canada three years ago will be allowed to serve his
jail sentence at home.

Terry Bazzani, 39, was arrested June 28, 2006, at Toronto's Lester B.
Pearson airport after arriving on a flight from Bogota, Colombia. He
was charged under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and pleaded
guilty to importing heroin on Sept. 2.

During his two-day sentencing hearing, federal prosecutor Dirk
Ryneveld argued that Bazzani should not be allowed to avoid prison
because of his disability.

Defence lawyer Jordan Watt insisted Bazzani would be isolated and not
be able to defend himself in prison because of his physical
limitations. Watt also argued that Bazzani would not be cared for
properly in an institution.

"Whatever sentence is imposed on Mr. Bazzani is likely to be more
harsh," Justice Keith Bracken said yesterday, imposing a conditional
sentence of two years less a day.

For the first six months of his sentence, Bazzani must obey an 8 p.m.
to 6 a.m. curfew, followed by an 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew for a
further six months. Bazzani must provide a DNA sample and must also
abstain from drugs and alcohol. Bracken also imposed a 10-year weapons
prohibition.

Bazzani appeared overjoyed, wrapping his new wife and friends in a
hug.

Ryneveld, who had been seeking a three-to five-year sentence, seemed
satisfied, saying it's unlikely Bazzani will reoffend any time soon.

At the sentencing hearing, Bazzani testified that his multiple
disabilities -- which include a mouth abnormality, no hands, shortened
arms, a concave chest and a partial left foot with fused toes -- were
the result of his birth mother taking drugs.

After his arrest, he spent five weeks in custody at Maplehurst maximum
security institution in Ontario. During that time, no one fed him,
brushed his teeth or looked after his personal needs.

The case began in June 2006, when the Canadian Border Services Agency
received a tip from a confidential source identifying Bazzani as a
drug courier. When he stepped off the flight from Colombia, the
customs inspector recognized him.

After being held a few hours, Bazzani admitted he had swallowed 85
pellets containing 510 grams of heroin.

In May 2006, Bazzani, then living on a disability pension, met two men
at a bar who asked him to smuggle drugs back into Canada for $10,000.
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MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr