CC: s.253(1)(a) – Impaired Driving, s.253(1)(b) – Driving while over .08%
My client, after drinking too much alcohol, lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a tree.
It was his 7th conviction for impaired driving. He should have gone to jail for 6 to 9 months. Instead, he pleaded guilty to one charge and received a fine of $2000, with 12 months time to pay. The other charge was withdrawn.
CC: s.255(3) – Impaired Driving Causing Death, s.249(4) – Dangerous Driving Causing Death, s.252 – Fail to Remain at the Scene of an Accident.
My client caused the death of his passenger as a result of a high speed rollover, while driving dangerously, and while his ability to operate a motor vehicle was impaired by alcohol. If convicted, the Crown would have been seeking a period of incarceration in excess of 10 years.
Found Not Guilty after trial and lengthy closing arguments. Judge said: “I would have preferred to find you guilty, but the evidence wasn’t there.”Reported in local newspapers and radio. No criminal convictions.
CC: s.344(b) – Robbery
My client hired an escort through an online escort agency to attend at his hotel room. She requested payment of $300 in advance. They talked for 15 minutes, then my client offered to give her a massage. After a few minutes, he turned her over and aggressively pulled at her panties. She protested and told him to stop. He got angry and demanded a refund. She refused. He attempted to forcefully remove the money from her purse. A struggle over the purse ensued. He assaulted her in the process. She threw the money on the floor, locked herself in the bathroom and called 911.
The matter was scheduled for trial, on the basis that he had a defence to the theft portion of the robbery charge. The victim failed to appear for trial, pursuant to a served subpoena. The Crown succeeded in obtaining an adjournment and a witness warrant. A new date for trial was set. This time the victim showed up, so I negotiated a plea deal to simple assault only (a charge to which he had no defence). We adjourned for the purpose of negotiating an agreed statement of facts. In the process of seeking further instructions from my client, he absconded from Canada, in order to pursue overseas employment. I sought leave to withdraw as Counsel of Record and a warrant issued for his arrest. His intention is to rehire me to conclude this matter upon his return to Canada.
CC: s.266 – Assault
My client engaged his wife in a heated verbal dispute. The argument continued in the kitchen area, where my client smashed a plate of food and then struck his wife in the face, knocking off her glasses. She ran outside and called the police. He locked her out. Their child was in his room, sleeping. She feared for his safety. Police could not get my client to open the door, so they entered by force by breaking a basement window. They found him in his room, pretending to be asleep. His wife had two small lacerations, dried blood, bruising and swelling to her face.
The Crown initially refused to resolve the matter by way of a Peace Bond, because this was not the first time my client had been charged with assaulting his wife. In addition, a previous domestic assault had already been resolved with a Peace Bond, a few years prior. I tendered a plea of “Not Guilty,” and scheduled the matter for trial. On the day of trial, his wife did not appear. She had communicated in advance to the Crown that it was all a big misunderstanding; that he had not assault her; that she did not wish to proceed with the charge, etc. On that basis, the Crown did not seek a witness warrant and the charge was dismissed. No criminal conviction.
CC: s.266 – Assault
My client attacked her husband upon awakening in the morning. She verbally attacked his daughter as well and pushed her. She then struck her husband with an unknown object, causing abrasions to his back and drawing blood.
She refused to accept the Crown’s resolution proposal of a peace bond, insisting instead that she did not assault him, and that he assaulted her. On the morning of the scheduled trial date, the Crown withdrew the charge. No criminal conviction.
