Crown Wants 15-Year Prison Sentences In Grow-op Case

[Herb Fellow]

REGINA - The prosecution's request for historically high prison terms in a history-making Saskatchewan marijuana case may have the defence wondering who has been smoking what?

"I should have asked for an absolute discharge," defence lawyer Drew Hitchcock scoffed Friday during sentencing submissions in the largest marijuana grow-operation ever busted in this province. Defence lawyer Cam McCannell called the Crown's proposed sentence "a dramatic over-reach," with the highest prison term on a pot-growing charge around six years.

But in a case where size does matter -- with 6,000 plants seized from massive greenhouses -- Crown prosecutor Darrell Blais wants unprecedented 15-year prison sentences for Lawrence Hubert Agecoutay, 52, and Chester Fernand Girard, 59, described as the "operating minds" in the operation. He's seeking eight years for Robert Stanley Agecoutay, 49, who played a lesser but still vital role.

"Those persons who intend to commit these offences should clearly understand going in that there is a real price to pay if and when they are discovered," Blais said. He argued having children as young as 10 working at the site and previous drug convictions for the men were aggravating factors.

The Agecoutay brothers and Girard, dressed in the same hemp suits worn throughout the 15-day jury trial earlier this year, still maintain they were growing hemp "medicine" to cure people.

"It was about stopping our people from suffering . . . There was no criminal thought," Lawrence repeatedly told the judge. Girard said he had no reason to disbelieve what he was told, adding "I believe the Creator brought us together."

The defence pressed for conditional sentences in the community since the motive was altruism, not profit. "The method was flawed, but the goal was admirable," Lawrence's lawyer Rod Simaluk said.

With the two sides so far apart, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Frank Gerein reserved his decision to April 21. "I have a lot to think about," he added. Submissions stretched nearly five hours and included Girard's mini-lecture on the myriad uses for hemp.

In February, a jury convicted Girard and the Agecoutay brothers of marijuana production and possession for the purpose of trafficking. Three other men were acquitted.

A pre-dawn RCMP raid on April 21, 2005 uncovered six large greenhouses and four plots of lush marijuana plants near Robert's house on the Pasqua First Nation. The plants, just days short of maturity, carried a potential value up to $7.5 million if sold by the gram. The Crown argued documents show the growers planned for three, $3-million crops a year.

But the men insist it wasn't about the money. Lawrence calls himself an inherent, ancestral chief, who was told by the Creator to grow "medicine" on "sovereign" land, with its own laws. He said his prayers were answered when Girard, a white Ontario man with the know-how to grow the plants, sought adoption from the aboriginal group, provided seeds, and put up about $50,000 to get the job done.

Lawrence, who always carries a sacred bundle into court, has used his aboriginal culture, spiritualism, and treaty rights in his defence.

In a letter to the court, the Pasqua band council wrote, "The actions of the convicted individuals in this case have brought discredit, embarrassment and humiliation to our First Nation and its people." They want the men permanently banished from the reserve. Pasqua Chief Elaine Chicoose wrote: "The elders believe Mr. Agecoutay has exploited First Nation culture," and added "we believe it is not the Creator's way to do what these men have done."

Source: The Leader-Post
Copyright: Leader-Post 2008
Contact: Barb Pacholik, Leader-Post, bpacholik@leaderpost.canwest.com
Website: Crown wants 15-year prison sentences in grow-op case