T. Boutzouvis

The accused were charged with multiple offences arising from a violent home invasion where masked intruders assaulted the occupants and demanded money while armed with firearms.

The intruders fled in a stolen vehicle, leading to a police pursuit and their subsequent arrest in a wooded area.

The court relied on circumstantial evidence, including DNA on discarded gloves, flight from police, and the accused's presence in the getaway vehicle, to find both accused guilty as co-principals or aiders to robbery, break and enter, disguise with intent, and various firearms offences.

The accused was charged with multiple firearm offences after police stopped a vehicle in which he was a passenger and found a loaded handgun hidden in a sock in the seat pouch in front of him.

The Crown's case relied entirely on circumstantial evidence, including the presence of the accused's DNA on the sock.

The court found that while the circumstances were suspicious, the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused had knowledge and control of the firearm, as there was no direct evidence connecting him to the gun and alternative explanations for the DNA transfer could not be excluded.

All charges were dismissed.