Court of Appeal for Ontario

Date: 2019-11-06 Docket: C66115

Judges: van Rensburg, Hourigan and Thorburn JJ.A.

Between

Her Majesty the Queen Respondent

and

Robert Scott Watson Appellant

Counsel

Robert Scott Watson, appearing in person Philip Norton, duty counsel Luke Schwalm, for the respondent

Heard and released orally: November 5, 2019

On appeal from: the sentence imposed on November 1, 2018 by Justice McMahon of the Superior Court of Justice

Reasons for Decision

[1] The appellant appeals his sentence resulting from a spree of robberies committed over a two-week period. He received a global sentence of 10 years, less pre-trial custody.

[2] Duty counsel advances a single ground of appeal. He argues that the sentencing judge wrongly relied on the submission of the parties that the appellant was sentenced to six and a half years for a series of robberies in 2006. In fact, the appellant was sentenced to five years and 11 months on that occasion.

[3] Duty counsel submits that because the sentencing judge relied on the step principle, this error impacted the sentence imposed and justifies intervention by this court.

[4] We disagree.

[5] The convictions in 2006 were just one in a series of factors considered by the sentencing judge in very thorough sentencing reasons. Ultimately, he concluded that a 12-year sentence would be reasonable. However, he reduced the sentence to ten years to reflect the rehabilitative steps taken by the appellant.

[6] In these circumstances, we are satisfied that the error regarding the previous sentence was immaterial and had no impact on sentence.

[7] In any event, the sentence imposed was fit and fully justifiable on the record. These were serious violent offences by a repeat offender. We decline to intervene. The sentence appeal is dismissed.

"K. van Rensburg J.A."

"C.W. Hourigan J.A."

"Thorburn J.A."