Cocaine trafficking sentence cut in half for Jamaican facing deportation from Canada
An Ontario judge cut the sentence in half for a Black cocaine trafficker from Jamaica facing “a significant likelihood of deportation” because he’s already serving a six-year prison sentence in Canada for trafficking in fentanyl and gun-related offences.
Police caught Roosevelt Rush, a 32-year-old who was living in Brampton, with 55 grams of cocaine after he was released from custody on bail in December 2022 before sentencing took place for his fentanyl trafficking and gun convictions. The Ontario Court of Justice heard Rush was wearing a GPS monitoring device when authorities tracked him to Belleville, where he was caught with the cocaine.
“This offence is significant, and his moral culpability is high. A proportionate sentence on these considerations alone would warrant a penitentiary sentence of 24 months,” Justice Robert Horton wrote in a recent decision out of Belleville.
“I would have otherwise sentenced Mr. Rush to such a sentence but for the fact he is serving a significant penitentiary sentence of six years and the mitigating circumstances outlined. Mr. Rush will be sentenced to 12 months custody.”
The mitigating factors the judge mentioned include Rush’s guilty plea, his “sincere level of remorse,” his young age, his race and the likelihood the father of three will be deported.
“The social context evidence in the form (of) an Impact of Race and Cultural Assessment supports that Mr. Rush’s life choices and opportunities have been informed by systemic discrimination as has his engagement in the criminal justice system as a young Black man,” Horton said.
“Mr. Rush has significant family support, support which continues. Those that love him are many and strongly speak to his kindness, his devotion to his children and his strong work ethic. Notably he has the support of the mothers of his children.”
According to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, a “permanent resident or a foreign national is inadmissible on grounds of serious criminality” if they are sentenced to more than six months in jail.
“Mr. Rush is not a Canadian citizen and he is likely to be deported as a result of these offences. This is a significant collateral consequence,” Horton wrote in his decision, dated Oct. 3.
The Crown recommended Rush get two years in jail. Roosevelt’s lawyer argued for six months, less a day.
According to the judge, “there is no disputing cocaine is an extremely dangerous and insidious drug with potential to cause a great deal of harm to individuals and to society. Likewise, possession of crack cocaine for the purpose of trafficking is a serious offence warranting emphasis on the principles of deterrence and denunciation.”
But judges must consider all the principles of sentencing – “including (his) prospects for rehabilitation,” Horton said.
Rush is a Canadian permanent resident who moved here at 19.
“He grew up in an area that was high with criminal activity, and which affected his family’s safety,” said the decision. “It was a regular occurrence to hear gunshots. When he was 12, Mr. Rush’s uncle was stabbed by a friend. His family went to the scene and Mr. Rush witnessed this horror. Another uncle was beaten to death with an iron rod when he was in high school.”
Rush also lost two friends from Jamaica, including one who was shot in the head, said the decision, which notes the other died of cancer.
He also had a friend in Canada who was murdered.
Rush “worked as a forklift operator with a company for two years until Covid hit,” said the decision.
“He drove an Uber to get some income. He tried to find work elsewhere in the country, but was told there were no opportunities and returned to Ontario,” it said. “He got a job delivering Ikea furniture, during which he injured his back. He had to be off work and, without a family doctor, was unable to provide the documentation he needed to keep his job. Feeling that he had exhausted most of his options, Mr. Rush said he chose to engage in the illicit activities he saw his peers engaged in to have income.”
When he started down the criminal path, Rush “was able to pay his bills and get an apartment again,” said the decision. “He was able to do a bit extra for his kids, such as buy them bikes, and get a car to help the family be more mobile.”
Rush’s “experiences as he attempted to earn an income to be able to survive are inextricably linked to his entity as a Black man within western culture,” said the decision, which notes “that for Black men in middle adulthood, their sense of manhood is often tied to their ability to fulfill roles such as provider, husband, father, employee and community member. However, they face systemic obstacles that hinder success in these roles. For instance, historically, they have earned below 75 per cent of white men’s wages.”
Men “of African descent are five times more likely to be incarcerated than their white counterparts,” said the decision. “Black people now account for over nine per cent of federal inmates, while comprising only four per cent of the overall population,” said the decision.
The judge characterized “Rush as a mid-level trafficker of cocaine. He is not an addict trafficker and elected to do this purely for financial gain.”
Horton accepted that “Rush experienced systemic and personal discrimination as a Black man, and that this has certainly played a role in his criminality.”
There’s a “reasonable prospect” he can be rehabilitated, said the judge.
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