Before sending him off to serve a four-year prison sentence, a judge on Tuesday warned a Windsor drug trafficker to prepare for the possibility of also getting booted out of Canada.
What that added punishment would mean is that Romaine Morgan, 29, only gets to see his Canadian kids — twins currently two years old — if they travel to see him in Jamaica.
“He understands — he may never come back?” Ontario Court Justice Mikolaj Bazylko asked Morgan’s lawyer.
“He’s got an uphill battle (to remain in Canada),” defence lawyer Kevin Shannon agreed during a sentencing hearing.
But before he gets to fight to stay in the country he’s lived in since 2017, Morgan, who has permanent residency status in Canada, must first serve prison time for being convicted of possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking, as well as illegally owning a loaded handgun.
Morgan and three others were arrested on March 1, 2023, following an investigation by the Windsor Police Service’s drugs and guns unit (DIGS) that culminated in search warrants executed on three city residences and three vehicles.
Investigators at the time said the raids resulted in the seizure of a kilogram of crystal methamphetamine, 33 grams of fentanyl, 27 grams of cocaine powder, and nine grams of crack cocaine; three semi-automatic pistols and more than 300 rounds of ammunition; cellphones and digital scales; more than $25,000 in cash and an estimated $27,000 in “designer clothing and shoes.”
DIGS officers suggested a suspected drug network with ties to the Toronto area. Windsor police Chief Jason Bellaire pointed to the continued threat to the community of illicit drugs and illegal firearms.
“Drugs are a scourge on this community,” Justice Bazylko said Tuesday. Nationwide, he added, “fentanyl, in particular, is killing people daily.”
While accepting a joint sentencing recommendation by the Crown and defence, the judge described the four-year prison term as “extremely lenient” given the current “going rate” in Canadian courts for fentanyl trafficking convictions. Counting in Morgan’s favour was his relatively young age, his guilty pleas and the fact he had no prior criminal record.
Your quick money ends up killing people
“Unfortunately, your (pursuit of) quick money ends up killing people,” said Bazylko. With the firearm also involved, he added, it was “terrible, terrible decision-making, especially for a young parent.”
Morgan was ordered to submit a DNA sample for a police databank used to help solve crimes, and was handed a 10-year weapons ban. He was given 51 days credit for 34 days of actual time spent in pre-sentence custody.
A forfeiture order also means he surrendered C$1,360 and US$80 in cash found on him and at his home at the time of his arrest, as well as four cellphones and two weigh scales.
Following Morgan’s guilty pleas, all related charges against his partner and the mother of his children were dropped.
A similar process for co-accused Alton Clunie ended on Oct. 1 before Ontario Court Justice Lloyd Dean.
Clunie, also originally from Jamaica but now a Canadian citizen, was handed a five-year prison sentence, with 869 days credit given for 570 actual days spent in pre-sentence custody.
Clunie, 33, pleaded guilty to three of 25 charges he faced — possession of crystal methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking (just over 1 kg was seized); owning a loaded and restricted firearm; and altering the serial number of the gun.
A father of four children, Clunie, who had no prior criminal record, has just over two years and seven months left to serve. He was also ordered to forfeit the $25,000 cash seized by police at the time of his arrest.
Following Clunie’s guilty pleas, the criminal charges against his common law spouse and co-accused were also withdrawn.
“He made a terrible mistake … but he will become a productive citizen,” his lawyer Laura Joy told the Star Tuesday. She described Clunie, the son of a migrant farmer, as artistic, creative and “a very talented DJ” who has been taking courses in jail since his March 2023 arrest.
While not facing a future threat of deportation like Morgan, Joy said her client still has “similar charges” pending before the local courts.
Joy describes Clunie as bright and polite and that he’s learned there can be serious “consequences to pursuing easy money.”