Three young persons were charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon, and armed robbery arising from an incident at a hotel in Toronto on December 20, 2014.
The Crown's case relied primarily on in-court identification evidence from two witnesses who had failed to identify the accused in photo line-ups conducted shortly after the incident.
The court found that the identification evidence was fraught with serious deficiencies, including the witnesses' prior exposure to a YouTube video featuring the accused, inconsistencies in witness statements, and the generic nature of the descriptions provided.
The court concluded that the Crown had failed to prove the identity of the perpetrators beyond a reasonable doubt and acquitted all three accused on all counts.
