OFF THE WIRE
A former member of the Hells Angels who received an effective sentence of one day in jail for weapons offences has abandoned his sentence appeal.
In July 2009 Randy Potts was sentenced to seven years in jail after a jury found him guilty of controlling an arsenal of weapons, including four grenades, four silencers and six automatic weapons.
Because he'd been in custody since 2005 and, at the time, was entitled to double-time credit for pre-sentence custody, the judge imposed a one-day sentence. Double-time credit has since been phased out.
Prosecutor Mark Levitz made a brief appearance in the B.C. Court of Appeal on Tuesday to say that on July 19 Potts had filed a notice to abandon the sentence appeal.
Potts and his co-accused, John Punko, were arrested in June 2005 following the RCMP's Project E-Pandora, a crackdown on the East End chapter of the Hells Angels.
The pair were convicted of trafficking offences, with the Crown successfully appealing the sentences imposed by the judge.
The federal Crown also appealed a ruling in the drug case that resulted in criminal organization charges being stayed against the two men.
The B.C. Court of Appeal upheld the Crown appeal but the men appealed that ruling and the Supreme Court of Canada recently announced that it will hear the defence appeal.
kfraser©theprovince.com
Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/Hell+Angel+drops+sentence+appeal/5165332/story.html#ixzz1TIrR9aho
