R. v. C.S. [Provincial Court of Alberta, Calgary, May 2019]

C.S. was pulled over for running a red light on 17th avenue SW at approximately 2:00am. The police detected an odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle. C.S. maintained that she had not drank any alcohol and that the odor of alcohol was coming from her three intoxicated passengers, for whom she was the designated driver. A demand for a roadside sample of her breath was made and for whatever reason, C.S. was unable to provide a suitable sample. She …

R. v. D.A. [Provincial Court of Alberta, Canmore, May 2019]

D. A. had spent the day snowboarding and as he was driving from the ski hill he ran into a check stop. At the check stop it was noted that there was a smell of burnt cannabis coming from the vehicle. D. A. had glossy bloodshot eyes and the smell of cannabis was still present when D. A. got out of the vehicle. D. A. admitted to smoking cannabis 1 hour prior. A Standard Field Sobriety Test was administered, which …

R. v. M.K. [Provincial Court of Alberta, Calgary, April 2019]

The police received multiple calls about an impaired driver. Each of these calls detailed that the driver almost hit a child on a bicycle, that he was falling asleep at red lights, that he was running other vehicles of the road and that he was erratically weaving in and out of traffic. A civilian witness followed M.K.’s car into a cul de sac in a residential area and watched him fall asleep at the wheel of his vehicle in the …

R. v. F.J. [Provincial Court of Alberta, Cochrane, April 2019]

F.J. was pulled over for running a stop sign at approximately 2:00am. The police detected alcohol on his breath, observed that he had slurred speech and alcohol was observed throughout the vehicle.  F.J. was arrested for impaired driving. The in-car audio visual recording showed that F.J. was less than courteous with police … this eventually led to an altercation in which the police were allegedly injured by F.J.  F. J. was charged with impaired driving, refusing to provide a breath …

R. v. D.B. [Provincial Court of Alberta, Calgary, April 2019]

The Calgary Police Service received a complaint that someone was illegally selling software (valued at $17,000) on Kijiji for $500.00. An investigation was started and the police ultimately purchased a copy of this software from a person they believed to be D.J.. In doing so they were directed to make an e-transfer to a specified account, which they did. A production order was obtained for the bank information relating to this account, which was in the name of D.B. A …

R. v. S.A. [Provincial Court of Alberta, Calgary, April 2019]

A member of the Calgary Police Service responded to a single motor vehicle crash where a vehicle had crashed into the center median in the City’s northeast due to icy conditions. The police arrived and spoke with S.A. about the crash. S.A. asked if he could sit in the police vehicle to stay warm, as it was -30’C. The police officer obliged and put him in the back of the police vehicle. While S.A. was seated there, the police ran …

R. v. E.K. [Provincial Court of Alberta, Calgary, March 2019]

E.K. was charged with possession of fentanyl. E.K. was an addict who had been using fentanyl for years and was eventually arrested when a cab driver called the police because she was passed out in the back seat of his taxi. When the police arrived they located the fentanyl on her person. In light of the well-publicized dangers of fentanyl, the Crown Prosecutor’s office had been asking courts to impose jail terms on those convicted of simple possession, even where …

R. v. S.T. [Provincial Court of Alberta, Calgary, March 2019]

S.T. was pulled over for failing to signal and for apparently swearing at the police as he drove by. The police smelled fresh raw marijuana and proceeded to ask S.T. questions relative to the existence and quantity of same. This was all captured on the police in-car audio-visual recording system and disclosed to defence. The police found what was described as a “moving pharmacy” – S.T. was charged with illegal possession of clonazepam, diazepam, oxycodone, oxycontin, apo-oxycodone-aceaminphen, morphine, oxycocet and …

R. v. M.J. [Provincial Court of Alberta, Calgary, March 2019]

For the third time in two years M.J. was charged with a litany of offences relating to the alleged possession of and trafficking in cocaine. Each time Ms. Fagan successfully secured his release on bail. For M.J.’s third arrest he retained the services of another lawyer for the purposes of bail and was ordered detained in custody by the presiding Justice of the Peace. He then retained Ms. Fagan to conduct a bail review. BOTTOM LINE: Ms. Fagan successfully obtained …

R. v. C.A. [Provincial Court of Alberta, Calgary, February 2019]

C.A. was charged with robbery contrary to section 344 of the Criminal Code; aggravated assault under s. 268 of the Criminal Code and uttering death threats contrary to s. 264.1 of Criminal Code. The complainant alleged that C.A., who he knew socially, attacked and robbed him in an alley leaving him with devastating and permanent damage to his face. C.A.’s position was that the fight was consensual and there was no robbery. BOTTOM LINE: Ms. Fagan was able to get …

R. v. M.J. [Provincial Court of Alberta, Calgary, February 2019]

M.J. faced twenty-two (22) charges which included possession of proceeds of crime and trafficking in cocaine. On ten occasions M.J. was alleged to have sold cocaine to an undercover police officer over the course of seven months. Most of these transactions were captured in a high quality audio-visual recording in which the seller (allegedly M.J.) was clearly identifiable. The challenges that this presented from a Defence perspective were obvious. The Crown’s position on sentence for a pre-trial guilty plea was …