Woman, 70, faces jail over cigarettes
Lawyer noted fines totaling almost $75,000 may be beyond her means to pay
Judge Wayne Gorman remarked that it was surprising a 70-year-old woman near Corner Brook, N.L., without any criminal record would involve herself in such serious criminal activity in relation to the seizure of a large amount of illegal tobacco.
But that is just what Dorothy Brown did when she picked up a shipment containing 64,821 unmarked cigarettes in November 2015.
Gorman fined the Cox’s Cove widow for the unlawful possession or sale of tobacco products under the Excise Act and for unlawfully purchasing, possessing, acquiring, transporting, storing or selling contraband under the Revenue Act in provincial court in Corner Brook.
The fines totalled $74,844.17 and she faces jail time should she default on the payment.
Federal Crown attorney Andrew May described the fines as substantial and sufficient to achieve the ends of justice.
Her lawyer noted they may be beyond her means to pay.
When asked to comment on her sentence after leaving the courtroom she replied: “I don’t know what to say.”
Dorothy and her son Cory Brown were charged with the same two offences Nov. 10, 2015.
Their arrest came after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police received a tip Nov. 9, 2015 that a shipment of tobacco was at the Same Day/Day and Ross courier and shipping company in Corner Brook. There was an indication the person who would pick up the packages would be a D.R. Brown from Cox’s Cove.
Police determined that Dorothy owned a red Chevrolet Cobalt. Officers set up surveillance at the terminal Nov. 10. Officers were in an unmarked vehicle and were set up so to have a clear view of the loading dock area.
At 11:44 a.m. her car arrived; Dorothy was driving the car and Cory was in the front passenger seat.
The vehicle backed into the loading area and Dorothy went inside the building. When she returned a few minutes later she and Cory loaded 13 boxes into the vehicle.
They then left the area with police following. The vehicle was stopped on the Trans-Canada Highway at Exit 6 into Corner Brook.
The mother and son were arrested to the city’s RCMP detachment.
The vehicle was towed to the detachment. It was later determined that the 13 boxes contained a total of 64,821 unstamped cigarettes.
Dorothy and Cory made a number of court appearances on the matter. In January she launched an unsuccessful Charter application seeking to exclude the evidence gathered from the search of her vehicle.
The mother and son were to go to trial on the charges on May 29, but before Dorothy decided to change her plea to guilty and the federal Crown said it was conditionally withdrawing the charges against Cory.
The two charges against Cory were officially endorsed as withdrawn following his mother’s sentencing.