Thief Found Not Guilty After Impromptu Trial
Thief Found Not Guilty After Impromptu Trial
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Charges:
CC: s.334(b) – Theft Under $5000, s.355(b) – Possession of Stolen Property.
Allegations:
My client had two sets of charges. First, stole some clothing items from Winners. When the Loss Prevention Officer tried to arrest her, she ran and he chased her. When he caught her, she pulled a knife on him. He knocked it out of her hand and subdued her until the police arrived. Second, she stole a number of items from her friend’s place, including a laptop computer, other electronics, and some expensive jewelry. She then sold these items to a pawn shop.
Result:
Regarding the first incident, my client failed to attend at her trial and a warrant was issued for her arrest. Regarding the second incident, my client did attend. However, since she failed to maintain communication with me, I was unprepared for trial and requested an adjournment. The judge refused to grant my request, so I conducted the trial on the fly and won. She was found “Not Guilty.”
Second Offender Gets a Second Chance – Charge withdrawn
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Charges:
CC: s.334(b) – Theft Under $5000
Allegations:
My client was caught shoplifting at Sears, again. She was charged with theft, less than one year before, and was referred to the Alternative Measures Program then.
Result:
Normally, a person only gets one opportunity to escape a criminal conviction for this type of offence. However, in my client’s case, I was able to persuade the Crown to refer her to AMP again. Upon successful completion of the program requirements, her charge was withdrawn, and she continues to enjoy having no criminal record.
Trust Fraud Results in rare CSO, instead of Jail
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Charge(s):
CC: s. 380(1)(a) – Fraud over $5000
Allegations:
Over a period of 9 months, my client defrauded her employer of over $23,000 by falsifying the hours worked by herself as well as her husband. As a manager, she was entrusted to submit accurate overtime hours worked by the employees within her department. This crime was only was discovered after her husband called to inquire about a T4 slip that he received. He denied having worked at all during the timeframe in question. My client had also changed his banking details, so that his paychecks would be depositted directly into her own account, without his knowledge. This triggered a full internal investigation, which resulted in her termination and a criminal charge. When confronted by the president of the company, my client provided a full confession, which was recorded.
Result:
Following extensive resolution negotiations with the assigend Crown, my client received a Conditional Sentence Order. This is a highly unusual and extremely lenient sentence for this type of offence. Normally trust thefts, in this range, result in a jail sentence of approximately 1 year. In fact, soon after this offence date, the Criminal Code was amended to prevent trust frauds from qualifying for a CSO. Now, any person convicted of a trust fraud over $5000 is certainly facing a significant period of incarceration.
Shoplifting Charge Withdrawn
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Charge(s):
CC: s.334(b) – Theft Under $5000
Allegations:
My client stole some children’s clothing from a department store.
Result:
I negotiated a diversion to the Alternative Measures Program. After making a small charitable donation of $200 and writing a letter of apology to the store, the criminal charge was withdrawn. No criminal conviction.
Prolific Thief Gets Away with Stealing a Large Plasma Television
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Charge(s):
CC: s.334(b) – Theft Under $5000
Allegations:
My client stole a 51” Samsung Plasma TV from The Brick. A store employee recognized my client a few days later at a local drug store and tried to detain him with his friend as the police were called, but my client got away. The employee told police that my client picked up this large, heavy television, still in its box, and ran through the store to the warehouse bay door to a waiting car. The employee gave chase to the car, but they got away. A few days later, my client was arrested in a different stolen vehicle.
Result:
This matter was scheduled for trial. My client is disabled and incapable of lifting such a large and heavy television, let alone capable of running with it in his arms. I obtained from my client’s doctor a large volume of medical records supporting this theory. In addition, my client’s friend, who is currently a serving inmate at the Drumheller Penitientiary, provided a statement to police, wherein he alone accepted full responsibility for the theft. Despite serious doubts, and despite my client’s lengthy and related criminal record, which includes approximately 30 convictions, many of which are for thefts, frauds and robberies, the Crown conceded that in the circumstances there was no reasonable likelihood of a conviction and agreed to withdraw the charge. No criminal conviction.
