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The accused, C.C., had over thirty previous convictions and was charged with two counts of criminal harassment. The allegations against C.C., were that he made numerous threatening and lewd phone calls to his neighbour of several years. Following a contested trial defended by Mr. Pyzer, C.C., was found not guilty of all charges before the court.
D.B., was charged with criminal harassment. The allegations against her were that she harassed her former boyfriend by calling his home over one-hundred times and by attending at his family’s home and threatening his family. D.B., adamantly maintained her innocence and after much work, Mr. Pyzer was able to get the charge against her withdrawn prior to setting a trial date by convincing the crown attorney’s office to deal with this charge by way of a section 810 peace bond. As a result of this incident, D.B., does not have a criminal record and never made any admission of guilt to these charges.
K.A. and the complainant struggled with ongoing issues and tensions throughout their tenant and landlord relationship. K.A. was upset that the complainant, his landlord, had not fixed K.A.’s leaky roof. Under the conditions of K.A.’s signed commercial lease, the complainant was supposed to fix the roof within 45 days of K.A. possessing the unit. Three months had gone by and the leaky roof was still not fixed. After the complainant failed to respond to any correspondence from K.A. to rectify the situation, K.A. went to approach him in the office. There, K.A. admittedly lost his temper and the police were called. The police arrived and K.A. was charged with one count of uttering threats and one count of criminal harassment by engaging in threatening conduct towards his landlord. To be convicted of uttering threats the Crown has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that K.A. knowingly conveyed to cause death or bodily harm to the complainant. To be found guilty of criminal harassment the Crown has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that K.A. engaged in threatening conduct directed at the complainant which caused the complainant to reasonably, in all the circumstances, fear for their safety. The weight of evidence against K.A. on both charges was overwhelming; not only did K.A. admit to the police he lost his temper and threatened to “knock out” the complainant several times, the complainant audio recorded the threats allegedly made by K.A., there was a witness, and the complainant reasonably, in all of the circumstances, feared for his safety. Under the Canadian Criminal Code, K.A. was facing up to five years in prison for the uttering threats charge and ten years in prison for the criminal harassment charge. Jonathan Pyzer successfully advocated for both of K.A.’s charges to be withdrawn by the Crown. K.A. therefore did not face a finding of guilt and does not have a criminal record as a result of this incident. Instead, K.A. had to agree to sign a section 810 peace bond with conditions he keep the peace, be of good behaviour, not have contact with the complainant, and not to possess any weapons for twelve months. The section 810 peace bond was of $500.00 with no deposits, meaning if K.A. breached any of his conditions he would then have to pay the court $500.00. At the time of his charges, K.A. was applying to be a Canadian citizen. Since both of K.A.’s charges were indictable offences, a finding of guilt on either charge would have had a devastating effect on his ability to become a Canadian citizen. Having a criminal record and going through a prison sentence could severely affect all aspects of your life, and Jonathan Pyzer recognizes the importance of avoiding those outcomes at all costs.
