the
practice

RECENT SUCCESS
R. V. M.S. 2022 | ST. CATHARINES

CHARGE: First degree murder in relation to the death of a 17 year old boy.

• Our client was 15 years old when he was charged with first degree murder in relation to the death of a 17 year old boy. Client, the victim, and two friends were out joy riding when a gun in the hands of our client discharged, striking the victim in the head. The Crown theory was that the client and two of his friends were trying to rob the victim of his parent’s vehicle and shot him in the process. At the end of the preliminary hearing, the client was discharged of first degree murder and committed to stand trial on second degree murder. After the Crown tried but failed to have me disqualified as counsel for a conflict of interest (judgment linked below), Madalyn Bavaro and I proceeded to two weeks of pretrial motions with a six week trial about to commence when the Crown finally accepted our offer of a plea to manslaughter, which I had put on the table two years earlier. The client of course accepted and was immediately released from custody on bail following his plea. His sentence, 5 days later, was one of 3 years with time already served. Sadly, and as a perfect example of how broken our justice system is, he actually spent an extra year in custody and the Court lost 6 full weeks of court time because the case resolved on the first day set for trial.

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RECENT SUCCESS
R. v. F.A. | 2023 | TORONTO

CHARGE: Possession for the purpose of trafficking fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and percs; Possession of a loaded restricted firearm, Possession of a prohibited device (switches) x5, Proceeds of crime.

• This trial was set for 15 days over a one year period, with a serious of Charter challenges to 18 different search warrants and a police investigation spanning 3 cities. Two hours into what was scheduled for two days of cross examining the Affiant, the Crown recognized the serious deficiencies with the warrant and the less-than-honest officer who prepared it. After he admitted to submitting an affidavit he had sworn to be true but knew to be false, the Crown withdrew all charges.

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RECENT SUCCESS
R. V. M.S. 2022 | ST. CATHARINES

CHARGE: Possession of a loaded and restricted firearm and possession of Fentanyl, Heroin, Cocaine, and Meth for trafficking.

• After receiving a tip that my client was dealing drugs, police installed a tracking device in his car and later executed a search warrant for the car and a residence. We successfully challenged the warrant for the tracker and the warrants for the home and car. In excluding all evidence at trial (the gun and drugs), the judge stated, “The conduct of the state authorities in this case was so subversive of the process that in order for the justice system to dissociate itself from the police actions the only remedy is to set aside the warrants.”

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RECENT SUCCESS
R. v. K.C. | 2023 | TORONTO

CHARGE: Aggravated Assault

• The client was a bouncer at a nightclub who was being accosted by a patron of the club who she allegedly hit over the head with her flashlight. The case had been before the courts for two years as she tried to defend herself while serving an unrelated pen sentence. With this case threatening her chances of parole, she hired me to set a “quick trial”. Instead, I had the charge completely withdrawn in exchange for her entering into a peace bond.

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RECENT SUCCESS
R. v. A.D. | 2022 | BRAMPTON

CHARGE: Robbery x 4 (carjackings), Possession of Property Obtained by Crime, Proceeds of Crime, and Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Cocaine and Fentanyl.

• The police cobbled together a theory that my client was involved in a series of car jackings and managed to obtain a tracking warrant for his phone and car as well as a transmission data recorder and eventually a warrant to search his home and a storage locker. Looking for evidence of the car jackings, they stumbled on a significant quantity of fentanyl and cocaine, along with a press and packaging and just over $25,000 in cash. We brought a Charter Application challenging all four warrants and on the first day of the Application, the Crown brought a motion to dismiss it as having no merit. Not only did the Judge rule the Application had merit, after a nine day battle spread out over 3 months, the entire Application was granted, all evidence excluded, and the client is getting his cash back.

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