Jennifer Helen Budgell

Four young persons were charged with multiple counts of armed robbery at Scotiabanks in Mississauga in May and June 2018, as well as related offences.

Three armed robberies occurred within two weeks in May 2018, all at Scotiabanks in Mississauga, committed by perpetrators wearing hoods and masks.

A fourth attempted robbery occurred on June 15, 2018, which was interrupted by police surveillance.

The Crown relied on video surveillance, witness identification, similar fact evidence, and circumstantial evidence to establish identity.

The trial involved complex evidentiary issues including the admissibility of recognition evidence under Leaney principles, similar fact evidence for identity purposes in a rotating group context, and Nikolovski video identification analysis.

The court dismissed charges related to the May 15 robbery due to insufficient evidence.

Convictions were entered on various counts with acquittals on others based on the court's careful analysis of identification evidence and the application of legal principles governing circumstantial evidence.

The applicant sought a stay of proceedings under s. 24(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, alleging a breach of his s. 11(b) right to a trial within a reasonable time due to delays caused by a co-accused.

The total net delay was 28 months and 26 days, below the 30-month presumptive ceiling established in R. v. Jordan.

The court found that the applicant failed to demonstrate that he took meaningful steps to expedite the proceedings, specifically by not applying for severance of the charges despite knowing of the co-accused's delays and the Crown's position against severance.

The court also found that the case did not take markedly longer than it reasonably should have, considering the complexity of a multi-accused trial and the Crown's reasonable decision to pursue a joint trial due to the young victim's trauma.

The application for a stay was dismissed.