TURMEL: Rob Glabais 3,000-plant grow gets 2 Hours nightly home arrest for 2 Years

[KingofthePaupers]

JCT: On Jan 7 2010, Rob Glabais was charged with cultivation
of 3,000 marijuana plants that could net a life sentence for
one of Ontario's bigger grow-op busts; and Theft of the
necessary $81,000 worth of power from Ontario Hydro. Bizarre
that he wasn't charged with Possession for the Purpose of
Trafficking since he had so much more than would have been
grown for personal use. Rob has since gotten himself an
exemption for 3 grams per day with 15 plants!

Mike Spottiswood helped him launch his S.601 BENO-POLCOA
Motion to Quash. This was in Peterborough where the same
Crown, Mauro DiCarlo, had previously had motions by Mark
MacDonald and Benny Almud dismissed by Justice Gilmore and
Debra McIntyre by Judge Gonsolus. Mark had filed a Notice of
Appeal, Benny Almud got a lawyer, pleaded guilty and got
punished, and then the Crown stayed the charge against Mark.
Har har har. One of the funniest "lawyers-are-better-than-
Turmel" stories. And Mark's appeal is now at the Supreme
Court of Canada. DiCarlo also dealt with Debra McIntyre's
prosecution and stayed her charge and she's still trying to
cite him for contempt at the Supreme Court of Canada.

He had originally offered Rob a year and a half in jail for
a plea. But Rob was holding out for no jail. Then a year.
But he held out. But Crown DiCarlo knew that prosecuting Rob
Glabais was going to entail more massive efforts. Still,
that's no excuse for Rob's cultivating 200 times more plants
than he's now allowed to have worth $3 million (cop math).
So, being one of the smarter Crowns around, DiCarlo offered
Rob a deal he couldn't refuse and won his conviction!

He asked if Rob could pay $4,800 on the $81,000 Hydro bill.
Sure!!!!! As for the cultivation of the 3,000 plants, would
he plead guilty to cultivation and do two years probation
and home arrest (each night between 10pm-6am) and 1 day of
Community Service each month. Sure except Rob works nights
so the judge set the house arrest between 4am-6am.

So Rob will have to be at home 2 hours a night for 2 years
and community service in punishment for one of Ontario's
bigger busts!

People who don't know the background might think the Crown
was crazy to offer such a sweet deal when he had such a
nailed-down cinch case. If the law is alive, that is.
With a lawyer accepting that the law is alive, any deal
would have included jail time, no doubt. But those of us who
know the background realize how much pain and aggravation
DiCarlo saved everyone including himself. He couldn't have
nailed Rob for years to come until it was over at the
Supreme Court of Canada, (given MacDonald and McIntyre are
there now, he knew it was no bluff that Rob would be able to
fight it to the top too) after a long jury trial and long
constitutional challenge. No matter how "bad" such a sweet
deal may look to the public, we know he saved the Crown a
fortune in costs and bad P.R. while even collecting a bit
for Hydro and he got a conviction. He won. He was between a
rock and a hard place but he wasn't greedy. And that's why
he won.

Rob Glabais 3,000-plant bust gets 2-hours nightly home
arrest? Sure, if it saves the Crown a self-defender's
expensive guerrilla law defence; and you've got a sharp
Crown who knows it's no bluff.

Maybe people should ask their prosecuting Crown Attorney to
call DiCarlo to find out what awaits them if they continue
to prosecute and don't manage to cut a sweet deal too?

DiCarlo had no hard feelings and even shook Rob's hand.
Everybody had won some!