PROPERTY OFFENCES
No such thing as a minor crime
Sometimes people make mistakes and can be charged with property offences.
Although shoplifting may seem minor, you can still get a criminal record, which may affect your future employment and travel.
If you forgot to pay for something, you might have a good defence. However, if you simply made an out of character mistake that day and stole something, you still have a lot of options available to you.
A good lawyer is able to meet with the Crown and often convince them that you walk away without getting a criminal record. This might require some negotiations and upfront work on your part, but guaranteeing a withdrawal of the charges may be essential to your case.
If you are alleged to have stolen from your employer, you could be facing jail time. The courts have held that a breach of trust in an employer-employee relationship is very serious and custody is always a possible outcome.
Again, a good lawyer is able to meet with the Crown and often get jail off the table.
Getting charged can be very embarrassing and in most cases, our clients charged with these offences never need to see the inside of a courtroom.
We have had hundreds of property offences withdrawn and ensured that hundreds of our clients have no criminal record.
MY PREVIOUS RESULTS
R V M. G.
John’s client was a hard working young man who traveled out west for work every year. He was arrested on a warrant for breaking into a person’s house and stealing $25,000 worth of jewelly that was never recovered.
The evidence against him was that another person, the co-accused, who was convicted of breaking into that same house told police he did it with John’s client.
The co-accused served 7 months in jail.
John was able to present a strong alibi defence that proved it was impossible for his client to ever commit the offence.
Upon John’s hard and tireless work, the Crown withdrew the serious charges against his client and he avoided serving time in jail and getting a criminal record for a very serious offence for something he did not do.
R V G. R. & S. H.
John's clients were charged with breaking into a commercial car lot. They were caught red-handed by a police officer at the scene with hundreds of dollars worth of car parts. The case against them was very strong.
The Crown was seeking a period of custody and giving them criminal records.
John was able to secure an absolute discharge for each client which absolved them from any criminal conviction. They were able to walk away from their mistakes.
R V L. J.
John's client was a middle age mother with a family who taught as a elementary school teacher. One day, she had a lapse of judgment and stole a dress from a store. Caught red handed at the store, the Crown was seeking a period of probation which would give her a criminal record.
John was able to convince the Crown to agree to diversion and divert her charges. John's client did a shop lifting class and made a donation to have her charges withdrawn. The lack of a record made sure she could continue teaching.
R V M. R.
John's client was charged with fraud over $5,000. He was accused of providing false information to a service company in order to receive thousands of dollars of insurance money. The service company paid out the money to John's client but the insurance company never paid back the service company leaving them out of pocket.
Because the amount of fraud was so high, the Crown was looking for a lengthy period of jail.
John was able secure a complete withdrawal of the charge upon his client completing a $100 donation and paying back half of the restitution.
Fraud charges can be difficult for the Crown to prove. A proficient lawyer can get the best results by negotiating with the right leverage and understanding of the law. This costed John's client way less then going to trial and he got the same result as an acquittal.
John's client