A provincial Court Judge tore a strip off of a Crown attorney in court Tuesday after arguing a 16-year-old car thief riding in one of two stolen vehicles linked to a devastating crash that killed a Winnipeg cab driver should be sentenced inside the context of the "larger picture" of youth auto theft in Winnipeg.
The teen, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was sentenced to time served in custody awaiting sentencing and a lengthy period of probation yesterday after pleading guilty in May to auto theft-related charges.
The teen was a passenger in a stolen Chevrolet Silverado that was one of two stolen vehicles used to ferry around 14 people from "party to party" on the night of March 28 and early morning of the 29th, court was told.
Duffy's Taxi driver Antonio Lanzellotti, 55, was killed March 29 after a stolen Chevrolet Avalanche, the second vehicle, was seen by witnesses "gunning it" though a red light at the intersection at Portage Avenue and Maryland Street.
The Silverado had peeled away from the scene only three blocks before the other vehicle became involved in the crash moments later. Court was told that the two vehicles had sped away from 61 Edmonton St. after seeing a police cruiser at about 3 a.m.
Yesterday, Crown attorney Liz Pats told provincial Court Judge Ken Champagne while the teen - one of 14 people charged in connection to the incident - wasn't in the SUV that killed the cabbie, the court should connect the dots between the two incidents, and impose a harsher sentence than the single stolen property charge against him would allow for under the YCJA.
"Our position is that all 14 kids, if they hadn't been driving around that night in these two vehicles, this wouldn't have happened in the first place...I think there is a tie between these two vehicles, absolutely," Pats said.
"One car went straight, the other car turned - he was in the vehicle that turned. He can't be blamed for what happened with the accident, but I think that when you look at the entire scenario of what happened that night, he certainly had a part to play," Pats said.
The Crown was seeking the equivalent of a five-month sentence plus probation for the youth, who, despite only having one prior conviction for auto-theft offenses, is deeply immersed in the city's auto-theft sub-culture.
Champagne charged that Pats' detailed explanation of that morning's events - specifically the ones involving the crash - was an argument posed to unfairly ask the court to make an example out of the teen for things he didn't do.
"Are you not asking me to impose a sentence to specifically deter this young man and to send a message to other young offenders involved in these types of cases to denounce their conduct?," Champagne asked.
"That's the flavour and the underpinnings of your delivery here today - simply going through those facts, is that fair to this accused whose pled guilty to being a passenger in a (stolen) truck?," he told her.
Defense lawyer Michelle Bright indicated it was unfair for the Crown to play up the circumstances of one incident and apply them to another in whichi the teen had no direct involvement.
Bright added that her client had co-operated fully with police to the point that he "was essential" in helping them determine the identities of some of the other people involved, including the driver of the Avalanche that killed the cab driver.
In sentencing the teen, Champagne indicated while he was indeed tempted to send a message to the teen and other youths involved in auto thefts, the YCJA - and its emphasis on the rehabilitation and reintegration of young offenders - barred him from doing it.
"I can't help but be tempted to impose a sentence that would address the principles of deterrence and denunciation, but I know I can't do that...I completely understand the Crown's frustration," he said.
james.turner@freepress.mb.ca
PREVIOUS
