Kristy Wong

The accused was convicted of aggravated assault, robbery, and breach of a probation order following a brutal, premeditated attack on the victim in a schoolyard.

The victim suffered permanent loss of sight in one eye and other serious injuries.

The court imposed a sentence of 5 years imprisonment for aggravated assault, with 2 years concurrent for robbery and 6 months concurrent for breach of probation.

The court rejected the Crown's submission for 6-7 years and the defence submission for 4 years, finding that 5 years was appropriate given the seriousness of the offence, the victim's life-changing injuries, the premeditated nature of the attack, and the accused's lengthy criminal record, while noting the record did not include serious prior violent offences.

The accused, Carolyn Burden, brought a Rowbotham application for state-funded counsel after Legal Aid denied her request for a change of solicitor and dismissed her appeal.

The Crown opposed the application.

The court dismissed the application, finding that Burden failed to prove indigence and that her right to a fair trial would not be materially compromised if she proceeded unrepresented, given her education and financial background.

The accused, an inmate serving a life sentence for murder, was charged with counselling another inmate to commit the murders of four individuals connected to his civil litigation.

The Crown's case relied heavily on the testimony of a fellow inmate, 'Joe', an unsavoury witness with a mixed reputation for honesty.

The court found Joe's evidence unreliable and the alleged murder plot too implausible and contingent to meet the threshold for the offence of counselling.

The accused was acquitted.