Motor vehicle theft, Theft over $5,000, Break and enter a place other than a dwelling-house, Breach of a release order, Theft $5,000 or under
R. v. Abbas
Sentence and the Crown's position
What the law allows
Saeed Abbas Abbas pleaded guilty to break and enter, theft, motor vehicle theft, breach of a release order and other property offences committed in Kelowna in 2022 and 2023, the last while he was bound by a release order. The Crown sought two years' imprisonment and the defence 18 months, each followed by two years' probation. Justice Hardwick accepted the Crown's global position of two years' imprisonment followed by two years' probation, with 953 days' credit for 635 days of pre-sentence custody, giving most weight to denunciation and deterrence because of the number of offences and his lengthy related record.
In the judge's words
1In light of the numerous offences before the Court and Mr. Abbas's lengthy and related criminal record, I accept the Crown's position that denunciation and deterrence are the principles of sentencing that ought to be given the most weight in this case. The principle of rehabilitation, while very important for the reasons I have indicated about the connection between addiction and criminality in Mr. Abbas's circumstance, cannot, in this situation, be permitted to override the principles of denunciation and deterrence.
The record
- Convicted of
- Motor vehicle theft (CC 333.1)
- Theft over $5,000 (CC 334(a))
- Break and enter a place other than a dwelling-house (CC 348(1)(e), 3 counts)
- Breach of a release order (CC 145(5))
- Theft $5,000 or under (CC 334(b))
- Prior convictions
- Not recorded
- At the time of the offence
- On bail1
- Appeal
- Not yet checked
- Counsel
- Crown: E.K. Miller
Defence: K.K. Chase (as agent for M.A. Patterson)
Sources
- R. v. Abbas, 2024 BCSC 2391 Court decision, CanLII, October 10, 2024
[56] The Crown seeks the following sentence: … a) imprisonment for two years, 730 days;
[1] THE COURT: These are my oral reasons for judgment in respect of the sentence of Mr. Saeed Abbas Abbas in respect of eight criminal offences.
[54] Importantly, at the time of this incident on or about January 15, 2023, Mr. Abbas was bound by the release order made on October 11, 2022, by the Honourable Judge Daneliuk.
[80] In light of the numerous offences before the Court and Mr. Abbas's lengthy and related criminal record, I accept the Crown's position that denunciation and deterrence are the principles of sentencing that ought to be given the most weight in this case. The principle of rehabilitation, while very important for the reasons I have indicated about the connection between addiction and criminality in Mr. Abbas's circumstance, cannot, in this situation, be permitted to override the principles of denunciation and deterrence.
[86] In this regard, I confirm that I accept the Crown's global position of imprisonment for two years, followed by two years of probation, with both protective and rehabilitative conditions. … Ultimately, yes, all right, so we have 635 days that are, with enhanced credit, 953 days.
- Criminal Code, s. 348 Record, Justice Laws Website
- R. v. Abbas, 2024 BCSC 2391 Court decision, Courts of British Columbia