Robbery Offence Lawyer In Toronto
What follows is a brief summary of the law. While it is not, and should not be relied upon as legal advice, it may assist you with some of the questions you might have. As always, consult a criminal lawyer should you need criminal advice.
Robbery and robbery related offences are listed in the Criminal Code of Canada: http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-c-46/latest/rsc-1985-c-c-46.html. The offence of robbery is reproduced here:
343. Every one commits robbery who
(a) steals, and for the purpose of extorting whatever is stolen or to prevent or overcome resistance to the stealing, uses violence or threats of violence to a person or property;
(b) steals from any person and, at the time he steals or immediately before or immediately thereafter, wounds, beats, strikes or uses any personal violence to that person;
(c) assaults any person with intent to steal from him; or
(d) steals from any person while armed with an offensive weapon or imitation thereof.
The Crown can establish that a robbery had been committed if it can prove that: (a) the defendant stole something from the complainant, (b) violence or threats of violence were used, and (c) the violence was for the purpose of carrying out the stealing. To “steal” means to take and move something that does not belong to you and to which you have no legal right. The use of violence (or threat), must be for the purpose of obtaining whatever is stolen, to prevent resistance to the stealing, or to overcome resistance to the stealing.
Penalty
The maximum penalty available if found guilty of robbery is life imprisonment. Having said that, there are many factors that determine sentence, including whether or not a firearm was used in the commission of the offence.
There are numerous ways to defend against robbery charges and I have successfully defended people against them numerous times – please refer to my Recent Successes page.
Again, the foregoing is only a summary. It is not legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. For a free consultation to discuss your case, please call me at 416-658-5855.
