Convicted drug dealer asks judge for leniency

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/09/2014 (3488 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A convicted Winnipeg drug dealer says he deserves another dose of leniency after getting caught breaching his conditional sentence.

Richard Marchioni, 33, admitted in court Tuesday he made a “series of bad decisions” while attending a friend’s wedding this past summer. What began as a fun night ended with his arrest and has now has put his future on hold.

“It was an isolated incident where he got caught up in the celebration,” said defence lawyer Kristen Jones.

Marchioni was given a two-year conditional sentence in November 2011 after pleading guilty to possession of meth and ecstasy for the purpose of trafficking. The Crown had sought a federal prison term, citing Marchioni’s 10 prior drug-related convictions between 1999 and 2006.

But Marchioni was given what Queen’s Bench Justice Robert Dewar called a “major break” due largely to the fact he was arrested in early 2007 and remained on bail for more than five years without incident while the case dragged through the courts.

During that time, Marchioni kicked his addiction, obtained full-time employment and become a caring, responsible father, court was told.

Dewar warned the sentence should not be used as a precedent for others and said Marchioni would have gone to prison had the case been resolved within a proper time frame, but credited the man with using the “fortuitous” delay to his advantage and proving he can be a law-abiding citizen.

Marchioni had been arrested by police in possession of more than $1,000 worth of meth and ecstasy. Police received a tip he had brought the drugs with him to the Patal Vocational School on Portage Avenue, where he was attending adult educational classes.

Marchioni was 20 months into his community-based penalty when he blew it back in July, court heard Tuesday.

His girlfriend was a bridesmaid in a wedding near Steinbach, and Marchioni had attended along with the couple’s seven-year-old daughter. But he didn’t leave in time for his nightly 10 p.m. curfew, and he began drinking alcohol in violation of his abstain clause.

RCMP stopped the couple and their child on a rural highway around 3:30 a.m. Marchioni was in the passenger seat and clearly intoxicated. His girlfriend had been driving and was found to be impaired, leading to her being arrested.

Marchioni was also taken into custody once his conditional sentence was discovered during a computer check. He then became belligerent with the arresting officer while demanding to be released, court was told.

“This was an exceptional circumstance for why he got the conditional sentence order in the first place,” Crown attorney Laura Perron said Tuesday. “A series of decisions Mr. Marchioni made that night were irresponsible and pretty gutsy.”

Marchioni admitted he began to feel “a degree of complacence” as he neared the end of his conditional sentence but says he will not make the same mistake again.

He is urging Dewar to allow him to resume serving the duration of the penalty in the community. However, the Crown wants all remaining time converted to real custody, saying it’s the only way to show there are consequences when rules aren’t followed.

Marchioni did spend 18 days behind bars following his re-arrest, but has been out on bail ever since while the fate of his conditional sentence hangs in the balance.

Dewar has reserved his decision until Oct. 10.

www.mikeoncrime.com