The truck driven by G.S. was seen swerving on the highway outside of Cochrane. The police stopped the vehicle and G.S. admitted to drinking. He was asked to provide a roadside sample of his breath. The in-car video system captured G.S. slurring his words, swearing and making several unsuccessful attempts to provide a breath sample. G.S. was charged with impaired driving, refusing to provide a breath sample and two traffic tickets for having an uninsured vehicle and no registration. Ms. …
R. v. W.D. [Provincial Court, Calgary, June 2017]
W.D. was charged in a complex fraud investigation involving two complainants where the total losses alleged were approximately half a million dollars. W.D. had (unwisely) given a full confession to the police. Prior to trial the Crown took a firm position that it would ask for a lengthy federal penitentiary sentence (in the range of 3-4 years) whether the charges were resolved prior to trial or whether W.D. was convicted following trial. Ms. Fagan scheduled the matter for a 5 …
R. v. D.J. [Provincial Court, Calgary, June 2017]
D.J. was observed by police slowing down to 10 km/hr in a vehicle traveling on a major road in Calgary. She was pulled over and she told the police that she had been drinking wine at a friend’s house. She failed the roadside breath test and was arrested. She later gave two samples of her breath that were analyzed at double the legal limit. Ms. Fagan filed a Charter notice alleging that the police breached her client’s right to counsel …
R. v. M.F. [Provincial Court, Calgary, June 2017]
The police observed M.F. driving with heavy damage to the driver side of his vehicle and was stopped. The police smelled marijuana and could see a plastic sandwich bag in the center console with marijuana “shake” visible from within in. M.F. was arrested for possession of marijuana and searched. While he was being searched a bag of cocaine was found in his pocket and a second bag fell to the sidewalk. He was charged with simple of possession of marijuana …
R. v. M.A. [Provincial Court, Airdrie, April 2017]
M.A. was charged with impaired driving and operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol level in excess of the legal limit. The breath test revealed that M.A. had a blood alcohol level of 2.5 times the legal limit. The earliest date that the Court could hear M.A.’s trial was just shy of a year after she was charged. As M.A. was subject to an Alberta Administrative Driver’s License Suspension while awaiting trial this was an excessive delay and was …
R. v. L.G. [Alberta Court of Appeal, Calgary, April 2017]
L.G. retained Ms. Fagan to defend a Crown appeal from sentence. L.G. had been previously represented by other counsel (not Ms. Fagan). He had entered a guilty plea to section 5(2) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and received a conditional sentence order (i.e. a period of house arrest with no jail time). The police had conducted an investigation which culminated in the seizure of more than 4.5 kilograms of …
R. v. B.S. [Provincial Court, Fort McLeod, March 2017]
B.S. was charged with impaired driving and refusal to provide a breath sample. A concerned motorist contacted the police to report that a transport truck was all over the road and had nearly caused several accidents. She believed the driver to be impaired. The police conducted a traffic stop, made inquiries and arrested B.S. for impaired driving. He was brought back to the police detachment to give breath samples. B.S.’s first language was not English and he insisted on having …
R. v. P.J. [Provincial Court, Regina Saskatchewan, March 2017]
P.J. was charged on three separate files. First, he was charged with two counts of breaching his bail conditions (curfew and no alcohol) when he was allegedly found passed out in the driver’s seat of his vehicle late at night at a gas station. Second, he was charged with dangerous driving, evading police and breaching his bail condition to keep the peace and be of good behaviour. A high speed chase through the streets of Regina involving several police officers …
R. v. R.K. [Provincial Court, Cochrane, February 2017]
R.K. was pulled over on a highway just outside of Cochrane after police saw her vehicle swerving just after 3:00am. Police smelled alcohol on R.K.’s breath and arrested her for impaired driving. She was taken to the police detachment where she provided samples of her breath that were almost triple the legal limit. Ms. Fagan filed a Charter notice arguing that R.K.’s right to full disclosure and her right to make full answer and defence were violated. She further argued …
R. v. R.J. [Provincial Court, Medicine Hat, February 2017]
R.J. was pulled over outside of Brooks for a minor traffic infraction. During the course of their interaction with R.J. they discovered that he had a drug related criminal record and that he had recently been arrested for possession of proceeds of crime (approximately $75,000.00 cash was found in a bag in his vehicle a few months prior). A condition of his bail when he was released on that charge was he not leave the Province of Saskatchewan. The police …
R. v. A.T. [Provincial Court, Calgary January 2017]
A.T. retained Ms. Fagan to defend ten serious criminal charges stemming from the police search of a vehicle that A.T. had been driving. In the center console of the vehicle the police located a handgun, methamphetamine, cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana and a significant amount of cash. A.T. with the following offences, including: Section 5(2) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – Possession of cocaine for the purposes of trafficking Section 5(2) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – …
R. v. S.C. [Court of Queen’s Bench, Calgary, December 2016]
S.C. was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped just outside of Lake Louise. The police claimed to have stopped the vehicle because they could not see if the passenger, who was reclined, was wearing his seatbelt properly. The police ultimately formed the ostensible grounds to search the vehicle and found a hockey bag with 30 pounds of marijuana in it. The police arrested the driver and S.C. and when the searched S.C. they discovered a vial of hash …
R. v. P.K. [Provincial Court, November 2016]
A concerned civilian noticed a vehicle driving erratically and narrowly colliding with other vehicles and a cyclist and called 911. The civilian followed the vehicle for approximately 15 minutes detailed his observations to 911 dispatch. The vehicle (allegedly driven by P.K.) rear ended another vehicle so hard that the hood of P.K.’s vehicle curled up over his front windshield. Instead of stopping to exchange particulars and render assistance as he was legally required to do, P.K. allegedly drove through a …
R. v. A.I. [Court of Queen’s Bench & Provincial Court, March 2016 and October 2016]
Police had been conducting an undercover surveillance operation for several weeks in relation to allegations of trafficking in fentanyl. Over the course of the investigation police observed A.I. engage in activity that they characterized as consistent with drug trafficking. In the course of their surveillance A.I. was apparently seen vomiting at the side of the of a busy road. The police seized on the opportunity to arrest A.I. for impaired driving and searched his vehicle. They conducted a search of …
R. v. R.J. [Court of Queen’s Bench, October 2016]
R.J. was pulled over near Lake Louise after a police computer check determined that he was driving without registration or insurance. Police noticed the smell of a “masking agent” (cologne); that R.J. was traveling to a “source” province for marijuana (i.e. British Columbia) and through computer checks determined that he had a conviction for possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. R.J. apparently presented as extremely nervous, which heightened the suspicion of the police that he was transporting contraband …
R. v. L.D. [Provincial Court, October 2016]
The police received a phone call from an anonymous caller about a woman high on heroin driving a stolen vehicle and following another stolen vehicle. The police tracked the woman to a pizza parlour where she was seen standing in her underwear eating pizza with a male. The male (L.D.) allegedly had three throwing knives visible on his belt and was arrested for possession of a weapon for a purpose dangerous to the public peace. He was searched incident to …
R. v. G.C./ Q.M. [Provincial Court, September 2016]
Police observed a suspicious vehicle and ran the license plate through their computer system. According to the police the registered owner came back as wanted for murder. The police immediately pulled the vehicle over and arrested the two occupants. A search of the vehicle was conducted incident to arrest and the police allegedly located seven cell phones; a knife on the driver; cash; bear spray; 1.2 kilograms of cocaine and 250g of marijuana. G.C. and Q.M. were arrested for possession …
R. v. S.J. [Provincial Court, September 2016]
S.J. retained Ms. Fagan to defend 11 charges including sexual assault, uttering threats, unlawful confinement and assault. Ms. Fagan attended in Yellowknife to conduct the preliminary inquiry and S.J. was discharged on 9 of the 11 charges (meaning that only two remaining charges would tried by a jury). Ultimately Ms. Fagan was successful in securing a stay of proceedings on the two remaining charges before trial.
R. v. S.D. [Court of Queen’s Bench, September 2016]
S.D. was driving a vehicle outside of Lake Louise and was pulled over by the police for (apparently) weaving in his lane of traffic multiple times. The police detected the smell of marijuana and proceeded to search S.D.’s vehicle allegedly discovering over 5 kilograms of marijuana and 4 tubs of marijuana honey. S.D. was charged with possession of marijuana in excess of 3 kilograms for the purpose of trafficking and simple possession of marijuana (the honey). A few weeks prior …
R. v. B.R. [Court of Queen’s Bench, April 2016]
B.R. was a passenger in a vehicle traveling on the Trans-Canada highway. Two highway patrol men conducted a so-called “Checkstop” for sobriety on the vehicle and ultimately formed the grounds to search the vehicle. B.R. and the driver of the vehicle were questioned and imprisoned in the back of the police vehicle. Computer checks were conducted revealing that both the driver and B.R. had prior drug convictions. A drug detection dog was deployed who did not indicate that he smelled …