"HOLY SMOKE 4" GUILTY

Defence lawyer says he will appeal guilty verdicts in drug
trafficking case, sentencing due next month

The four men charged with drug trafficking out of a Baker Street
business were found guilty last week but they will wait until October
to hear their sentences.

Judge Donald Sperry of the B.C. Provincial Court quickly dismissed
the defence built up by Holy Smoke co-owners Alan Middlemiss, Paul
DeFelice, and their associates, Kelsey Stratas and Akka Annis.

Over several days in 2006, the four men sold marijuana and hash to
undercover police out of Holy Smoke, 512 Hendryx St.

They did not deny the charges but their lawyer, Don Skogstad, argued
they were providing an important community service by providing a
safe environment to buy marijuana that wasn't mixed with other drugs.
Skogstad also said they provided the drug to people who needed it for
medical purposes and would not sell to minors.

While Skogstad had introduced witnesses who backed up those claims,
Judge Sperry said the undercover police officers who bought the
marijuana were neither underage, sick or concerned with quality.

The defendants also argued they started selling out of the store to
counter drug dealers who were working out of the next door garden,
but the judge was not convinced.

"Taking heat off the store is self service, not community service,"
Judge Sperry said.

He added legalizing marijuana isn't the responsibility of the court,
but of the government.

Crown lawyer Robert Brown asked for a nine to 12-month sentence for
Middlemiss, DeFelice and Stratas. Those three all had prior
convictions for drug related offences.

Annis has no prior convictions and Brown did not specify a sentence.

Brown said the four offered no remorse for their crime, accusing them
of having an "in-your-face attitude," as evidenced by the massive
sign on their shop and their behaviour in court.

"I believe the community looks to you silently...to impose a sentence
that's going to be a message," Brown told the judge. "It's not going
to be accepted in our community."

Defence lawyer Skogstad took exception to the length of sentence
requested and said someone who sold drugs in an alley would not get
more than a month in prison.

Skogstad argued the country, and the Kootenays in particular, want
marijuana legalized.

Marijuana advocacy was a recurring theme in Skogstad's case.

"If you give them that sentence, you're telling them they have no
free speech," Skogstad told the judge.

Speaking to reporters after the hearing DeFelice said he was
disappointed, but not surprised by the judge's decision.

"I was hoping, I guess, beyond hope, that the judge would see some
merit in our arguments, but it sounds like he didn't see any merit in
our arguments."

The defence asked for a delay in sentencing to gather support from
the community, including a petition that will be circulated around Nelson.

Judge Sperry will deliver his sentence on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 9 a.m.