NO DEAL FOR CONVICTED COCAINE DEALER

A Kelowna judge threw the book at a cocaine dealer Friday, more than
doubling the sentence recommended by lawyers.

Judge Jane Cartwright said drug activity has forced Kelowna residents to
avoid parts of the downtown area. She sentenced Robert John Andres to two
years less a day in jail, a far stiffer penalty than the eight months Crown
and defence lawyers suggested in their joint submission.

"Crack cocaine . . . makes part of downtown Kelowna unsuitable for average
citizens," Cartwright said. "The joint submission is inadequate . . . and
will make no difference to Mr. Andres' behaviour."

It was the first time in Cartwright's 11 years on the bench that she
departed from a sentence lawyers jointly recommended, she said. Andres, who
appeared in court by video link from the Kamloops jail, hung his head, but
said nothing.

Police caught the 31-year-old coke addict driving a car in Kelowna with two
passengers on April 25. One of them was dealing crack from the vehicle.

Officers searched Andres at the side of the road. They found 14.5 grams
(half an ounce) of cocaine worth $500 in one sock and $355 in the other. He
carried a cellphone -- contrary to a probation order stemming from a
previous conviction -- and police found drug paraphernalia in the car.

Crown counsel Murray Ross said the eight-month sentence was appropriate
because Andres pleaded guilty soon after his arrest and police effectively
strip-searched him outside the car, which could be a breach of his rights
under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Cartwright rejected the argument, saying Andres had flagrantly ignored
conditions of his probation. He failed to check in with his probation
officer in March after serving a four-month jail term, he was caught with
the cellphone and ignored an order to stay out of downtown on May 10.

Andres has 22 prior convictions, including two counts of trafficking last year.

"Mr. Andres needs something to stop him. A longer separation from the
street may assist him," Cartwright said.

Wayne Jennings, defending, said he'll ask Legal Services to appeal the
sentence, assuming Andres agrees. Cartwright's main message, he said, is
that cocaine trafficking has a greater impact on smaller cities like
Kelowna than Vancouver.

"She's looking at this through the lens of Kelowna's dynamics and the
disproportionate impact drug trafficking has on the community," Jennings said.

Ross said the judge is serving notice to other drug dealers that the stakes
are higher.

"It looks like judges are taking a harder stance when it comes to
trafficking in the community here," he said. "Even a couple of blocks in
downtown Kelowna is a major portion of the city compared to a couple of
blocks in Vancouver."