An Ontario man previously convicted of manslaughter and ordered deported from Canada has been sentenced to six years in prison for firearm offences committed shortly after his release from custody.
Troubling Pattern of Criminal Activity
Christopher Enrique Gordon, who received a deportation order to St. Vincent in 2020, was caught with a loaded .40-calibre Glock semi-automatic handgun equipped with laser sights in his Toronto nightstand during a police search in September 2022. The weapon contained seven rounds of ammunition.
Justice Benita Wassenaar of Ontario's Superior Court of Justice expressed serious concerns about the connection between Gordon's crimes and drug trafficking. "It is extremely troubling that both the previous manslaughter offence and the current firearm offences had some connection to drug trafficking," Justice Wassenaar wrote in her November 17 decision.
Evidence Found During Search
During the September 2022 search of Gordon's bedroom, police allegedly discovered additional items including approximately $6,000 in cash, 18.56 grams of fentanyl, 10.13 grams of cocaine, and drug trafficking paraphernalia.
The judge noted the dangerous combination of factors in Gordon's case, stating "the combination of drug trafficking and a gun frequently leads to tragic results" and emphasized the "serious — and sometimes deadly — impact of fentanyl."
Sentencing Considerations
Gordon pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited or restricted firearm without a licence and possessing a firearm while under a December 2019 court-ordered lifetime gun prohibition. The drug charges were subsequently dropped.
The prosecution had sought an eight-year sentence, highlighting Gordon's manslaughter conviction and ongoing involvement with drugs, along with the fact that he re-offended within a year of his release from prison after serving his manslaughter sentence.
Justice Wassenaar acknowledged mitigating factors including Gordon's guilty plea, the conditions he experienced in custody, his disadvantaged background, and his experiences with anti-Black racism. Evidence indicated that Gordon's "choices were limited and influenced by his disadvantaged circumstances," according to the court decision.
Despite these considerations, the judge determined that the aggravating factors pushed Gordon's crimes to the higher end of the sentencing range, particularly those factors speaking to "the normative wrongfulness of the conduct and the harm posed by it."
