Wanted man arrested after Algoma Street apartment search in Thunder Bay
THUNDER BAY — A 40-year-old Thunder Bay man is facing aggravated assault and drug trafficking-related charges after officers executed a search warrant at an apartment on Algoma Street on Thursday evening.
Officers seized about 180 grams of cocaine, 73 oxycodone pills and more than $10,000 in cash during the search.
Accused faces assault, drug and proceeds charges
Cody VonBargen, 40, is now charged with aggravated assault, possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, possession of oxycodone for the purpose of trafficking, and possession of proceeds of crime over $5,000.
The accused was to be transported to the Thunder Bay jail on Friday and is scheduled to appear in court on April 8.
All charges remain allegations, and the accused is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
What the aggravated assault charge means
Aggravated assault is set out in section 268 of the Criminal Code. In plain language, it applies where a person wounds, maims, disfigures or endangers the life of a complainant.
It is an indictable-only offence, not a hybrid charge, and the maximum penalty on conviction is 14 years in prison. The section does not create a mandatory minimum sentence, so the judge has discretion to impose a fit sentence up to that 14-year ceiling based on the facts proved in court.
How the drug trafficking-related charges are punished
The two drug counts would ordinarily proceed under section 5(2) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which makes it an offence to possess a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.
Cocaine and oxycodone are both listed in Schedule I of that act. For Schedule I substances, section 5(3) makes the offence indictable and sets the maximum penalty at life imprisonment.
Parliament repealed CDSA mandatory minimum penalties through Bill C-5, so there is no automatic minimum jail term in the current version of the law, but the sentencing exposure remains very serious.
What the proceeds-of-crime charge means
The proceeds count is tied to section 354(1) of the Criminal Code, which covers possessing property or proceeds knowing they were obtained directly or indirectly from an indictable offence.
Where the alleged value is more than $5,000, section 355 makes the offence hybrid. If the Crown proceeds by indictment, the maximum sentence is 10 years in prison. If the Crown proceeds summarily, the general summary-conviction penalty under section 787 is up to a $5,000 fine, up to two years less a day in jail, or both, unless another provision says otherwise.
What a judge can consider at sentencing
If there is a conviction, the sentence would depend on the Crown’s election where applicable, the seriousness of the victim’s injuries, the quantity and type of drugs, the role the accused is found to have played, and any aggravating or mitigating factors.
The Criminal Code directs sentencing judges to weigh those factors and to impose a sentence proportionate to the gravity of the offence and the offender’s degree of responsibility.
