The law firm of Kostman & Pyzer, Barristers, have represented individuals charged with all type of property-related offences including shoplifting, theft, possession of stolen property, fraud, forgery, uttering forged documents, using stolen credit cards and robbery. If you are charged with a property-related offence such as theft, fraud or possession of stolen property do not plead guilty before you consult one of our lawyers as you may have a defence. Pleading guilty will result in a criminal conviction and the consequences of such a conviction may be highly prejudicial and expensive. If convicted of a property related offence, you may end up with a criminal record that could dramatically affect your ability to obtain employment and travel abroad. Our firm will aggressively fight for your rights and raise every defence available to defend the allegations against you. At Kostman & Pyzer, Barristers, we fight for your rights and we fight to win!
As with all criminal offences, the Crown Attorney must prove both that the accused was the one who acted, that the accused intended to cause that action (actus reus), and that the accused had a guilty mind or guilty knowledge (mens rea). At Kostman and Pyzer, Barristers, our law firm has a strong record for successfully defending our clients against allegations of property related offences. We have successfully defended this type of allegation, relying on defences of intoxication, frailties in the identification procedure, a lack of guilty knowledge, and by challenging evidence which was obtained in contravention of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
THEFT - SHOPLIFTING:
A person commits theft when, with the intent to steal anything, they take property that does not belong to them. Under the Criminal Code, it does not matter whether the item is animate or inanimate or whether the person who stole the items stole it for their own benefit or for the benefit of another person. It also does not matter if you only intended to deprive the owner of their property temporarily. To obtain a conviction, the Crown must establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused was the person that (a) took or converted (b) an animate or inanimate thing (c) with intent to temporarily or absolutely deprive the owner of it (d) fraudulently, and without color of right.
FRAUD:
Fraud is committed when one, by deceit, falsehood or other fraudulent means, defrauds the public or a person of any property, money, valuable security or any service. Under the Criminal Code, it does not matter whether the person defrauded can be ascertained or not. The Crown does not have to prove actual economic loss suffered by the victim. However, they must prove an actual risk of prejudice to the victim’s economic interest.
POSSESSION OF STOLEN PROPERTY:
The criminal offence of Possession of Property Obtained by Crime is committed when a person has in his or her possession any property or thing or any proceeds of any property or thing knowing that all or part of the property or thing or of the proceeds was obtained by or derived directly or indirectly from a the commission of a criminal offence. Specifically, the Crown must prove: that (a) the accused had the property in their possession; (b) the property was obtained directly or indirectly from a criminal offence; (c) the accused had the intention to possess the property; and (d) that the accused had specific knowledge that the property was obtained directly or indirectly from a criminal offence. The Criminal Code states a person has something in their "possession" when that person has it in their personal possession or knowingly has it in the actual possession or custody of another person, or has it in any place, whether or not that place belongs to or is occupied by him, for the use or benefit of himself or another person. Finally, where two or more persons, with the knowledge and consent of the rest, has anything in his custody or possession, it shall be deemed to be in the custody and possession of each and all of them.
ROBBERY:
The offence of robbery is committed when an individual steals and uses violence or threats of violence in order to steal the item. The offence of robbery can be committed in several ways. Section 343 of the Criminal Code of Canada contemplates four different ways in which robbery can be committed in Canada.
Section 343 states: 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.
As with all criminal offences, the Crown Attorney must prove both that the accused was the one who acted (identity) and that the act was perpetrated (actus reus), and that it was intentional (mens rea). Under section 343(a), the Crown must prove that the accused person used violence or the threat of violence for the purpose of taking the stolen item or that the person used violence to prevent the victim from resisting the taking of the stolen item. The accused person does not need to use any significant force in order to commit a robbery. Even the threat of violence in combination with a theft, may constitute a robbery. Section 343(b) describes specific acts of violence, which will raise the offence of theft to robbery if the violence contemplated occurs close in time to the theft. An armed robbery is committed when an individual steals while armed with an offensive weapon or an imitation of an offensive weapon. “Offensive weapons” include, pellet guns, knives, baseball bats, and/or any other object which is converted into a weapon. It does not matter whether or not you intended to use the weapon; if it was in your possession at the time of the theft, you may still be convicted of “armed robbery”.
Kostman and Pyzer, Barristers, has successfully defended clients who were charged with robbery on many occasions. Some of the successful defences employed in the past include, intoxication, colour of right (defence of property), identification, a lack of nexus between violence and theft. We have also brought successful arguments under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms arguing that charges should be thrown out or "stayed" due to an infringement of the guaranteed rights of our clients.
There is no minimum punishment for the offence of robbery or armed robbery. The maximum punishment is life imprisonment. Where a firearm is used during the commission of a robbery, the minimum sentence is four years imprisonment.
Robbery is a very serious allegation. Make sure that if you are charged with such a serious offence, that you are represented by a skilled practitioner with significant experience in the criminal courts. At Kostman and Pyzer, Barristers, we make full answer and defence our highest priority!
