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E., North Oshawa • 905-725-5100 www.lapizzaandpasta.com SAVING YOU MORE ON NOW AT THE BRICK! SAVING YOU MORE SAVING YOU MORE For more details shop instore or online at thebrick.com A judge has given absolute discharges to three people who pleaded guilty to illegally growing marijuana in Clarington, concluding that sending them to jail would be contrary to the public interest. "Excessive and unjust sentences undermine public confidence in the administration of justice," Ontario Court judge Brenda Green said in a recently released decision. Green found that while it had been proven the accused were complicit in cultivating more plants than could legally be grown at the government- approved grow-op in Newtonville, their actions did not pose substantial risk to the community. Green rejected a call by the Crown to sentence the defendants to six months in jail, finding they were merely employees who had attained their jobs at the grow-op by responding to "help wanted" ads. The judge noted that no charges had been pursued against those who managed the operation. "The police specifically targeted this grow operation for investigation but, ironically, none of the individuals who had control over it, profited from it, had knowledge of the legalities of the operation or limits set out in the licenses are being prosecuted for their involvement in this enterprise," Green said. The charges were laid in August of 2020, after Durham police investigated a licensed grow-op on Elliot Road in Newtonville. As police arrived to serve a search warrant, a number of people on the property scattered, but were tracked down by canine teams, the ruling says. Police determined that while a licence allowed for 1,752 marijuana plants on the premises, an additional 500 plants above that limit were being cultivated. They charged three people found on the property -- Tuan Ti Le, Ba Loc Nguyen and Hong Nguyen -- with growing cannabis in excess of an amount permitted by law. All three defendants co-operated with police and ultimately pleaded guilty to the charge, Green's decision says. But the judge found that the defendants were in essence workers caught up in a criminal mess not of their own making. "There was no evidence that linked the three gardeners to the owners of property, renters, lessees or the licence holders in any way other than the fact that they were found working on the property," the judge said. "They were not involved, in any way, in this enterprise other than as manual labourers." Green also found the accused individuals assumed the work they were doing was legal, and had no notion the enterprise they were employed with was exceeding relevant licensing provisions. None had criminal records at the time of their arrests, she noted. "They had only just recently started working on the property before they were arrested by the police," Green said. "None of them had even received their first paycheque for their work." Green rejected the Crown's call for jail terms for the accused, finding such a sentence would unfairly punish them and expose them to potential deportation. In her decision, the judge criticized the heavy hand with which the Crown approached the case. "Frankly, it is surprising that the Crown did not consider it to be in the public interest to offer them some kind of diversion, especially in light of the impact on their lawful status in Canada," she said. " Any additional punishments for these vulnerable individuals, whose moral blameworthiness is minimal, risks tarnishing the integrity of the criminal justice system." The judge entered absolute discharges for all three defendants. JUDGE REJECTS JAIL FOR NEWTONVILLE GROW-OP 'GARDENERS' JEFF MITCHELL jmitchell@ durhamregion.com NEWS NEW WORKERS HADN'T RECEIVED THEIR FIRST PAYCHEQUES FROM THE COMPANY WHEN ARRESTED BY DURHAM POLICE "There was no evidence that linked the three gardeners to the owners of property, renters, lessees or the licence holders in any way other than the fact that they were found working on the property." Ontario Court judge Brenda Green Don't be a LitterBug! Please keep our community clean.