The Crown will seek a 10-year jail sentence for a woman convicted on five counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking.
However, defence lawyer Olivia Whynot told Vancouver Provincial Court Judge Reginald Harris May 26 she may apply for a dismissal of the charges for the case having taken so long, what's known as a Jordan application.
Janell Elizabeth Sandhu, 35, was convicted of possession of fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
The offences are alleged to have occurred between Dec. 12, 2019 and Feb. 14, 2020.
The conviction came May 31, 2024.
The charges against Sandhu were sworn July 27, 2020, according to court documents.
Crown prosecutor Tareyn Warren told Harris the Crown would be seeking the prison sentence.
Sandhu’s co-accused on the five charges is Cody Timothy Casey, 38.
He had been on the run for three years for multiple drug trafficking and weapons charges. He was arrested in Oman and appeared in Vancouver Provincial Court April 25. Judge Donna Senniw ordered him remanded in custody.
Casey was wanted by the Vancouver Police Department on Canada-wide warrants for a total of 17 drug and firearm offences.
Nothing has been proven against Casey and he is presumed to be innocent.
Whynot told Harris she could be making a so-called Jordan application in the case which was scheduled for sentencing submissions May 26.
Such an application is a request to the court made in accordance with a Supreme Court of Canada decision.
Under that decision, stays of proceedings are possible if a case hits a ceiling of 18 months for those tried in the provincial court and 30 months for cases in superior courts.
Warren said the Crown would oppose the Jordan application.
Harris approved Whynot’s request for an adjournment.
The judge heard Casey returns to court in early June to determine if he has a lawyer.
“He needs to get on the bus,” Harris said. “We’re moving ahead with his counsel or without. We have an obligation to move it forward.”
Whynot is Sandhu’s eighth lawyer in the case, which first came before the court Aug. 25, 2020.
