An Ontario judge has rejected a request for a reduced sentence from a convicted drug dealer seeking to avoid deportation.
Twenty-eight-year-old permanent resident Hopeton McFarlane pleaded guilty in the Ontario Court of Justice in Hamilton to possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking earlier this year.
The judge sentenced McFarlane to two years in prison and three years of probation earlier this month. His lawyer had asked for a conditional sentence of two years less a day, arguing in part that a prison sentence could lead to his deportation to his home country of Jamaica.
McFarlane’s immigration counsel submitted a letter to the court advising that a conviction for possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking would likely trigger admissibility and deportation proceedings under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act….