ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
COURT FILE NO.: CRIM(P) 382/13
DATE: 2015 06 09
BETWEEN:
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN
Michael P. Michaud, for the Crown
- and -
NATALIE BROWN
Maurice J. Mattis, for the Defence
HEARD: May 11 to 15 and 19 to 22 and 25, 2015
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
FAIRBURN J
[1] Ms. Brown is before the court on a three count indictment, alleging that she committed three robberies in the City of Brampton during the evening of July 19, 2012. Each of the victims were robbed at bus shelters. Each of the robberies occurred about thirty minutes apart. The Crown alleges that, on each occasion, Ms. Brown was the driver of the getaway vehicle. The Crown says that her accomplice was Revington Bailey. On the Crown’s theory, Mr. Bailey committed the actual robberies that escalated in seriousness over the course of the evening. In the first, he flashed a gun. In the second, he pointed a gun at the victim and then discharged it into nearby grass. In the third, he pointed a gun at the victim and pulled the trigger. No bullet emerged. In each case, the robber got away with handheld electronic devices. In the last two robberies, he was seen entering a vehicle in a location other than the driver’s seat. In the last robbery, a licence plate was obtained. The plate came back to Ms. Brown’s van.
[2] There is no dispute that the first two robberies occurred. Nor is there a dispute about what happened during those incidents, including the fact that Revington Bailey was the principal party. I find as a fact that the third robbery also occurred and that Mr. Bailey was the principal offender in respect to that one as well.
[3] The central issue for my determination on this trial is whether, having regard to all of the evidence, Ms. Brown aided Revington Bailey in committing the robberies.
The Evidence
Count #1: Robbery of Matthew Sinaga – Agreed Statement of Facts
[4] At about 10:25 p.m. on July 19, 2012, Matthew Sinaga was waiting at a bus stop at the corner of Steeles Avenue and Torbram Road. He was with his friend Eliezer Suean. They were approached by a black male wearing a black cap with red writing. It is agreed that this man was Revington Bailey.
[5] Mr. Bailey stood at the bus stop for “a couple minutes” before asking Mr. Sinaga and Mr. Suean whether they knew when the bus would arrive. When they said that they did not know, Mr. Bailey asked Mr. Sinaga to check the bus schedule on his iPhone 4. While he initially resisted, Mr. Sinaga eventually handed the phone to his friend and asked him to check. As Mr. Suean went to hand the phone back to Mr. Sinaga, Mr. Bailey took it and pretended to call Brampton Transit.
[6] Bailey then “flashed a gun” in their direction. He did this by lifting his shirt. The gun was in the waistband of his pants. He told them to “keep walking”. Both Mr. Sinaga and Mr. Suean walked to the Hilton Garden Inn and reported the incident to the police. They did not look back.
[7] Mr. Sinaga’s iPhone 4, worth between $350-399, was the only thing taken. It is agreed that on July 20, 2012, Mr. Bailey sold Mr. Sinaga’s telephone and a second one (unrelated to this case), to a Mr. Khawaja Ahmad. Mr. Bailey claimed that they were his property to sell. Mr. Ahmad paid $330 for both phones. Ms. Brown was not present for the sale.
Count #2: Robbery of Vimmi Dhingra – Agreed Statement of Facts
[8] At about 10:57 p.m. on July 19, 2012, Vimmi Dhingra was sitting down inside of a bus shelter at the corner of Dixie Road and Bovaird Drive. A black male with a black baseball cap approached her from the back of the bus shelter. It is agreed that this man was Revington Bailey. Mr. Bailey asked Ms. Dhingra for the time. She told him it was 10:57 p.m., after which he pulled a gun from his pocket, pointed it at her “belly”, and said “OK, give me whatever you have. Like cash, or your cell phone.”
[9] Ms. Dhingra told Mr. Bailey that she had no cash, at which time he told her to hand over her cell phone. She then put her phone in her purse and zippered it closed. Bailey told her to hand over her purse. Ms. Dhingra tried to run from the bus shelter and Bailey tried to snatch her purse. There was a brief struggle in front of the bus shelter, and then Bailey fired a shot into some nearby grass. At that point, Ms. Dhingra released her purse and Bailey ran toward a waiting vehicle on Dixie South.
[10] Mr. Bailey entered the vehicle before it drove away. He did not enter the driver’s seat. Ms. Dhingra said that “maybe” it was a van because of the height of the licence plate. She said that she did not see who was driving the vehicle or the licence plate number.
[11] Among other things taken from Ms. Dhingra were her Black Samsung Galaxy S2 phone, worth $500-$600. Her purse and cosmetics were also taken. So too were her Brampton transit bus tickets, purchased from the Springdale Pharmacy. (As below, these tickets and a receipt for them were later located in Ms. Brown’s van.)
Count #3: Robbery of Bhopinder Singh – 911 Call, Statement Given to Police and Preliminary Inquiry Evidence
[12] Mr. Singh was the third robbery victim. He was also at a bus stop. It is agreed that he called 911 at 23:29:04 p.m. on July 19, 2012, and spoke with a 911 operator for 6 minutes and 44 seconds.
[13] While Mr. Singh provided a statement shortly after the 911 call, and testified under oath at the preliminary inquiry, he could not be located at the time of trial. As it turns out, Mr. Singh had been here on a student visa which seems to have expired prior to trial. As such, the Crown brought a motion seeking the admissibility of the 911 call, Mr. Singh’s police statement, and his preliminary inquiry evidence.
[14] I first ruled on the 911 call, finding that it was admissible. Bearing in mind this ruling, the defence asked that Mr. Singh’s statement, given shortly after the 911 call, and his preliminary inquiry evidence, also be admitted into the proceedings. Counsel agreed that the statement and preliminary inquiry evidence should be received for the truth of their contents. Counsel agreed that this obviated the need to hear and rule on the balance of the motion.
911 Call: July 19, 2012
[15] In the 911 call, Mr. Singh said that he had just been “robbed” at the Goreway and Derry bus stop. He was calling from a Pizza Nova at 3417 Derry Road, about 100-150 metres from the intersection of Derry Road and Goreway Drive. Within seconds of the call commencing, Mr. Singh gave the licence plate for the getaway vehicle: BJNX 949. The plate was read back to him by the 911 operator with the use of words: “B as in boy, J like John …”. Mr. Singh confirmed she had the correct plate. As below, this plate is registered to Ms. Brown and is affixed to her van that was searched pursuant to warrant and found to contain the second robbery victim’s bus tickets and receipt.
[16] Mr. Singh told the 911 operator that he had been walking through the intersection when a male first started to follow him. Mr. Singh thought the man was also going to the bus stop, but when Mr. Singh stopped walking, the man hit him from the back with his forearm. Mr. Singh’s phone, a Blackberry, fell to the ground. The man picked up Mr. Singh’s Blackberry. He showed Mr. Singh a gun and then started running.
[17] He ran toward the vehicle with plate BJNX 949. Mr. Singh said that a “lady” was driving the car, a Dodge Caravan. Both the female driver and the man with the gun were black. The woman was between 25 to 30 years of age. The man was wearing a cap and a chain and was dressed in black. The gun he was carrying appeared to be a “pistol”.
[18] Mr. Singh said that as the man ran toward the car he was shouting “drive-drive-drive”. The woman drove off once the man was in the car.
(continues verbatim in the same format through paragraph [115] as in the source text)
FAIRBURN J
Released: June 9, 2015
COURT FILE NO.: CRIM(P) 382/13
DATE: 2015 06 09
ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
BETWEEN:
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN
- and -
NATALIE BROWN
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
FAIRBURN J
Released: June 9, 2015