Judge says guilty pleas will stand
ABRAHA NABBED IN FENTANYL BUST; INVOLVED IN EARLIER ARRESTS FOR DRUG DEALING
A Lethbridge judge has rejected a last-minute application to strike the guilty pleas of a man who was headed for prison Monday.
Awet Petros Abraha petitioned Judge Eric Peterson to set aside his previous guilty pleas to five drug charges he offered late last year, but Peterson refused, noting that he had already accepted the guilty pleas, and the accused had previously agreed with the facts presented by both the Crown and defence.
Abraha, who appeared by closed-circuit TV from the Lethbridge Correctional Centre, said he felt pressured to plead guilty and he didn’t have enough time to think about his decision.
However, Crown prosecutor John Oman urged Peterson to reject Abraha’s application and proceed with sentencing, and suggested the accused was only trying to delay matters.
“The Crown sees this as simply avoidance,” Oman said.
Defence lawyer Wade Hlady told court he was unable to act for Abraha, given his last-minute application, and he was allowed to withdraw as Abraha’s counsel.
Court was told Dec. 2, 2016 when Abraha pleaded guilty to single counts of drug possession and drug possession for the purpose of trafficking, that Lethbridge police followed Abraha, 28, and another man as they drove to Calgary Oct. 20 to pick up a supply of fentanyl. They stopped at a parking lot in Calgary where they met another vehicle, climbed in and drove away. When they returned they climbed into their own vehicle and left the parking lot.
The two men were arrested shortly afterward and caught with 584 fentanyl pills worth about $23,600.
Oman noted during the December hearing that Abraha has previous convictions for drug trafficking and drug possession for the purpose of trafficking, and he pleaded guilty the previous September to three charges of trafficking after he sold drugs to undercover police officers in 2014, 2015 and 2016. When he was caught with drugs Oct. 20, he was still waiting to be sentenced on the previous charges.
“In spite of being charged and arrested, he has carried on,” Oman said.
While Oman recommended a sentence between five and a half years to eight years, defence sought a sentence between two and a half and three and a half years.
Peterson acknowledged Abraha’s difficult life and addiction to drugs, but said Abraha has not shown any remorse for his actions and he hasn’t made any attempts to change his behaviour.
Peterson sentenced Abraha to five and a half years in prison, although he gave him credit for 138 days spent in pre-trial custody. Abraha must also submit a sample of his DNA for the National DNA Databank, and he is prohibited from possessing certain firearms and weapons for 10 years, and others for life.