Ontario Man Facing Drug Trafficking Charges Has Trial Stayed Due to Crown Delays

The Ontario Superior Court building in Toronto in a file photo. The Canadian Press/Colin Perkel

An Ontario court has stayed the charges against a Mississauga man who was allegedly found with 8 kilograms of cocaine and 400 oxycodone pills, saying Crown delays have caused the case to take too long to get to trial.

The accused, Christopher Vaughan, applied for a stay of proceedings, after the case came close to the 30-month ceiling for trials. Vaughan said his rights to a trial without an unreasonable delay were being violated.

“This case is another example of how a major disclosure failure by the Crown, in a region beset with chronic institutional delay, must be immediately redressed or face the consequences,” Superior Court Justice Deena F. Baltman said in the March 26 decision.

Vaughan was arrested on March 2, 2023, following two search warrants executed by police, which allegedly found “a large sum of currency” including US$34,844 and CA$21,000, 400 oxycodone pills, digital scales, and other drug paraphernalia at his Mississauga apartment. Police also say they searched a locker and found 8 kilograms of cocaine, CA$14,000 and documents in Vaughan’s name and his wife’s name, Maria Lopez, who has also been charged.

A third person, Kenneth Green, was also charged in connection with the investigation but his charges have been stayed by the Crown, the court document said.

Vaughan was scheduled for trial before a jury set to begin on July 28, 2025.

Baltman said the trial was expected to be completed 29 months and 8 days after information was sworn before the court, coming close to the 30 month ceiling for superior court matters under what has become known as the Jordan Rule.

One of the main issues was that the Crown took seven months and 13 days to provide Vaughan with “basic disclosure,” something he was entitled to for his case.

Baltman said the Crown did not provided any “reasonable explanation for this lengthy delay.”

The court noted that Vaughan had “acted reasonably” and “taken steps to expedite the proceedings.”

It also said the Crown had “no compelling explanation” for the disclosure delay.

The issue was that it took months for four pieces of information to be disclosed, which slowed the process of the case down, Baltman wrote in the decision.

The defence said that it could not advise Vaughan on how to proceed with the case without the documents.

Baltman said that the Crown tried to get an earlier trial, but was not successful.

The Crown filed a direct indictment against Vaughan and Lopez on March 11, 2024. However, the move was done against the defendant’s wishes, according to the court document. The case was then ordered into the superior court.