A man sentenced to nine months in jail and six months probation for selling cocaine and oxycodone to undercover Surrey Mounties on four occasions in a dial-a-dope drug trafficking operation has been denied a lesser sentence he sought on appeal to take care of his mother after his sister was murdered.

Tenzin Jamyang Garie, 26, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and possession, aiming for 18 months of house arrest but a Surrey provincial court judge gave him the jail sentence instead. On appeal, in the Court of Appeal for British Columbia in Vancouver, Garie sought a suspended sentence or a 90-day intermittent sentence, given a B次元官网网址渃hange in his personal circumstancesB次元官网网址� arising from the murder of his sister last month and that his mother will suffer hardship if heB次元官网网址檚 jailed.

The court heard GarieB次元官网网址檚 sister was the victim of a double homicide in Burnaby.

Garie was sentenced Nov. 16, 2021, filed his notice of appeal five days later, was granted leave to appeal and was then released on bail on Nov. 30 last year. He sought to serve his sentence in the community because, since his sisterB次元官网网址檚 death, he and his brother have B次元官网网址渁ssumed responsibility for providing care and financial assistance to their mother who has taken a leave from her employment,B次元官网网址� Justice Sunni Stromberg-Stein noted in her Nov. 10 .

She also noted that once Bill CB次元官网网址�5 introduced by the Trudeau government is proclaimed a conditional sentence order (CSO) would become B次元官网网址渁n available sentencing optionB次元官网网址� for his offences but the bill is presently in its third reading in the Senate and a CSO is not available to him now.

B次元官网网址淢r. Garie reports he was recruited to sell cocaine and oxycodone by an older relative, and did so for six to eight months,B次元官网网址� Stromberg-Stein noted. B次元官网网址淗e never used the drugs he was selling. He earned approximately $1,000 a week selling drugs, and he saw it as an easy way to make money. The Crown described Mr. Garie as a lowB次元官网网址憀evel trafficker.B次元官网网址�

Stromberg-Stein also noted in her reasons that the sentencing judge described Surrey and the Lower Mainland B次元官网网址渁s B次元官网网址榦verrunB次元官网网址� with the type of drugs Mr. Garie was trafficking, and observed that dialB次元官网网址慳B次元官网网址慸ope operations make it easy to distribute these drugs in residential areas, and to people who are addicted.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭he judge made no error in concluding that, in Mr. GarieB次元官网网址檚 case, a CSO was inconsistent with the fundamental purpose and principles of sentencing, having regard to the gravity of the offences and the high moral blameworthiness of Mr. Garie,B次元官网网址� the higher-court judge decided. B次元官网网址淭he nineB次元官网网址憁onth prison sentence, followed by six monthsB次元官网网址� probation, in Mr. GarieB次元官网网址檚 case, is far from being demonstrably unfit. If anything can be said, it is very lenient.B次元官网网址�

Stromberg-Stein also found B次元官网网址減otential hardship on GarieB次元官网网址檚 mother has no bearing on the outcome of this appeal, which is to determine whether the judge erred in principle or imposed a demonstrably unfit sentence having regard to the gravity of the offences and Mr. GarieB次元官网网址檚 moral culpability.

B次元官网网址淲hile the situation is tragic, it does not give rise to the sort of exceptional personal circumstance that would justify going outside the identified generally applicable range of sentence to craft a nonB次元官网网址慶ustodial sentence in a case such as this,B次元官网网址� she decided. B次元官网网址淪uch evidence cannot be used to reduce an otherwise fit sentence to a point where it is no longer fit and proportionate to the gravity of the offence and the moral culpability of the offender.B次元官网网址�

The appeal court judge determined that the Surrey provincial court judge was not in error, and that a CSO, suspended sentence or a 90B次元官网网址慸ay intermittent sentence B次元官网网址渋s not a fit sentence.

B次元官网网址淭he sentence imposed was fit. It was proportionate to the gravity of the offences and the moral culpability of Mr. Garie,B次元官网网址� she concluded. B次元官网网址淚 would dismiss the appeal.

Justice Christopher Grauer and Justice Ronald Skolrood agreed.

tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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