Vincenzo Scaramuzza

A young person, age 19, pleaded guilty to conveying a false message contrary to s. 372 of the Criminal Code.

The defendant called 911 reporting a false armed threat at a community centre, describing himself as the armed individual, with the intention of provoking police to shoot him ("suicide by cop").

The Crown sought a nine-month conditional sentence followed by three years probation.

The defence sought a conditional discharge.

The court imposed a conditional discharge with three years probation, finding that despite the seriousness of the offence, the defendant's youth, first-offender status, genuine remorse, strong pro-social character, and the mental health crisis underlying the offence warranted rehabilitation-focused sentencing rather than incarceration or conviction.

The accused was charged with four offences arising from a robbery at a mobile telephone store on Albion Road in Toronto on June 21, 2013: using an imitation firearm while committing robbery, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, and having his face masked during the commission of robbery.

The Crown's case relied on eyewitness testimony from the store employee, police observations at the scene, video evidence, and testimony from the accused's co-perpetrator who pleaded guilty.

The accused testified that he drove his co-perpetrator to the area to purchase a phone and marijuana, and that he was visiting a woman at her residence during the robbery.

The court rejected the accused's evidence and found him guilty on all four counts based on circumstantial evidence including the location of the vehicle, text messages between the accused and co-perpetrator, the false alibi, and physical evidence found in the vehicle.

The accused was charged with possession of a loaded prohibited firearm and possession of a firearm without a licence following a search warrant execution at his residence.

After initially being detained pending bail, he was released on house arrest bail in May 2013.

He entered guilty pleas in February 2014, some weeks before scheduled preliminary inquiry dates.

The court imposed concurrent sentences of 18 months imprisonment, rejecting the Crown's position that a three-year penitentiary term was appropriate and the defence position that an 18-month sentence should be reduced further by credits for pre-trial custody and restrictive bail conditions.

The court also imposed a two-year probation order with conditions including community service, weapons prohibition, and reporting requirements.

The accused pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.

The Crown sought a sentence of 6-9 months imprisonment followed by 3 years probation.

The defence sought an intermittent sentence.

The court imposed a 90-day intermittent sentence followed by 3 years probation with ancillary orders.

The court balanced the serious nature of the offence and the need for denunciation and deterrence against significant mitigating factors including the accused's early guilty plea, genuine remorse, commitment to counselling, family support, and low risk to re-offend as assessed by a forensic psychiatrist.

The applicant sought a bail review following his detention on charges of robbery and being masked with intent arising from November 2010 robberies at an Oakville Mac's Milk Store and a Mississauga Rabba Fine Foods Store.

At the preliminary hearing, the applicant was ordered to stand trial on counts relating to the Mac's Milk robbery but was discharged on counts relating to the Rabba store robbery.

The applicant brought a bail review application arguing material change in circumstances, including the discharge on some counts, time served in pre-trial custody, and proposed sureties.

The Crown opposed the application, emphasizing the applicant's serious misconduct while in custody, including possession of cocaine and a homemade weapon concealed in his rectum, and subsequent drug-related incidents.

The court dismissed the bail review application, finding the applicant had not met the onus on a balance of probabilities to demonstrate cause for vacating the detention order.