Assault Offences

The client and his wife were experiencing marital difficulties as a result of COVID and the financial strain it caused. After several nights of arguing, F.D.’s wife was yelling in his face and he made the alcohol-fueled decision to push her away by using his head in a head-butting motion. She fell to the ground and was left with a noticeable mark on her heard. Police attended and F.D. admitted to headbutting his wife.

As a result of resolution discussions, the Crown Prosecutor agreed that the matter could be resolved by Peace Bond with the condition that F.D. attend for anger management and domestic violence counselling.

Given the fact F.D. confessed to the allegation, this was a very favorable outcome that insured he was left with no criminal record. This was very important as his immigration status would be in jeopardy if he were to be convicted.

After a night of consuming drugs, S.K. got into a heated verbal argument about his consumption of drugs. S.K. attempted to leave the room but the complainant continued with the verbal attacks. Out of anger, S.K. picked-up a chair and threw it into the room. Unfortunately, the chair bounced off a fish tank and struck the complainant in the jaw, causing her significant pain. Police were called and S.K. was charged with assault.

After reviewing disclosure, Cory Wilson explained to the prosecutor that S.K. had a defence as he did not intend the chair to hit the complainant – it was a complete accident. The Crown agreed to withdraw the charges and S.K. was entered into a Peace Bond.

This was a great outcome as S.K. was left with no criminal record and did not have to endure the cost or stress of proceeding to trial.

D.C. was accused of assaulting an individual who would not leave the office of where D.C. was working, despite it being closing time. The complainant refused to leave because he was upset and wanted to speak with a manger, despite no manager being present. D.C. attempted to escort the complainant out of the office by walking beside him with his hand on the complainant’s lower back. Suddenly, the complainant turned and it appeared he was going to attack, so D.C. wrestled him to the ground. Once the complainant was under control, D.C. told him to leave. Finally, after much back and forth, the complainant left.

The complainant spoke with police and wanted charges pressed against D.C. for assault. After reviewing video of the incident, police declined to press charges. Not deterred, the complainant went before a Justice of the Peace and had a Private Information laid based on his own version of events and without the video being played.

After being charged as a result of the Private Information, Cory Wilson spoke with the assigned Crown Prosecutor about the case and the fact that D.C. did not commit a criminal offence. The prosecutor agreed and withdrew the charge on the first court appearance.

While this was a long road for D.C., it was the best possible outcome as he was left with no criminal record for this incident and he avoided the cost of proceeding to trial.

It was alleged that T.T. got into an argument wit a neighbor over snow shoveling. This was an ongoing argument as the neighbor would shovel the snow in front of T.T.’s driveway. After putting up with this issue for the past three years, T.T. ad enough. During the heated argument, T.T. pushed the neighbor into the snow. The neighbor called police and T.T. was charged with assault.

After informing the prosecutor about the background circumstances of the offence, it was agreed that the mater could be diverted into the Alternative Measures Program. T.T. made a $250 donation to his favorite charity and the charge was withdrawn.

R.K. was charged with assault because of allegations his ex-girlfriend made about him right when they broke-up. It was alleged that R.K. would get drunk, get angry and sometimes slap or push the complainant. She was going to let it go but after the break-up, he kept showing up at her house causing her fear.

R.K. was facing a number of charges including assault and criminal harassment. R.K. was in Canada on a working Visa and would be removed from the country if he was convicted of a criminal offence.

After resolution discussions with the prosecutor, Cory Wilson was able to have the matter resolved by Peace Bond. This was a fantastic resolution for R.K. as he was able to remain in the country and continue to seek citizenship.

A.S. and his girlfriend were both intoxicated and had a heated argument inside their apartment. The neighbors overheard the argument and then observed the girlfriend run outside followed by A.S. who grabbed her from behind. The neighbor called police after she observed A.S. wrap his arm around his girlfriend’s neck and seemingly choke her to the ground.

Given the choking allegation, the Crown was not initially agreeable to resolving the matter by Peace Bond so a trial was set. Closer to the trial date, Cory Wilson presented the prosecutor with a package of character letters and documentation showing the incredible steps A.S. took to deal with his drinking problem. As a result, the prosecutor agreed to cancel the trial and A.S. was given a Peace Bond.

This was the best outcome for A.S. as he was left with no criminal record for the incident.

After a night of consuming drugs, S.K. got into a heated verbal argument about his consumption of drugs. S.K. attempted to leave the room but the complainant continued with the verbal attacks. Out of anger, S.K. picked-up a chair and threw it into the room. Unfortunately, the chair bounced off a fish tank and struck the complainant in the jaw, causing her significant pain. Police were called and S.K. was charged with assault.

After reviewing disclosure, Cory Wilson explained to the prosecutor that S.K. had a defence as he did not intend the chair to hit the complainant – it was a complete accident. The Crown agreed to withdraw the charges and S.K. was entered into a Peace Bond.

This was a great outcome as S.K. was left with no criminal record and did not have to endure the cost or stress of proceeding to trial.

J.B. was involved in a 4 years custody battle with his ex-wife. There were a total of 60 court appearances and roughly 100 calls to the RCMP to deal with various issues. This was a highly contentious battle to say the least. On one particular occasion, the ex left court documents at J.B.’s front door and swore an affidavit that she gave personal service, which meant she actually gave the envelope to my client or sent it by registered mail. Police were called that same night and found the envelope at the door. They then gave it to J.B. who had no memory of police doing so. J.B. missed the court date that was on the paperwork in the envelope and the ex was granted $500 in costs for his non-attendance.

Once J.B. was made aware that he missed the court date, he swore an affidavit stating he was not served. He then swore another affidavit and testified in court that he was not served and that police actually took the envelope when they left. Police video clearly shows that police did not leave with the envelope. As a result, J.B. was charged with three counts of perjury and suspended from his job as a police officer without pay.

At trial, Cory Wilson argued that J.B. had no intent to mislead the court and had mealy made an honest mistake given the stress of the high conflict custody battle. The trial judge agreed and found J.B. not guilty on all counts.

D.F. was charged as a result of allegations that he struck his wife after a verbal argument. Shortly after the client was charged, the complainant contacted Cory Wilson to indicate that she wanted the charges dropped and for her husband to come home as soon as possible. Cory asked the complainant to provide him with a signed letter outlining her version of events and the fact she wanted the charges and release conditions dropped.

Armed with that letter, Cory approached the prosecutor and was able to have the criminal charges dropped. D.F. entered into a common-law peace bond in which his only condition was to keep the peace and be of good behaviour.

This was the best possible result as D.F. required no criminal record for his employment.

M.H. was charged with criminal harassment as a result of a series of emails he sent to his ex-wife’s employer. The complainant was a member of the Calgary Police Service and previously had M.H. charged with criminal harassment in Quebec. M.H. sent multiple emails to CPS with a significant number of attachments in an attempt to get the complainant fired from her job. Without conducting an investigation into the veracity of the allegations made by M.H., a senior member of CPS decided that it was criminal harassment and charged M.H.

The matter proceeded to trial where Cory Wilson extensively cross-examined the complainant over two days on a large volume of documents and family court affidavits. As a result of the cross-examination, it became clear that the complaint, a police officer, lied to the court about her fear as a result of the information sent to CPS. She claimed that as a result of the emails, she became so worried about the safety of the children she cancelled a scheduled visitation with M.H., the father of the children. Cory Wilson was able to catch the complainant in her lie when he presented an email sent by her offering to drive the children to M.H. for the visitation.

At the end of the trial, the judge found that the Crown failed to prove the essential elements of the offence and M.H. was found not guilty.