Toronto Robbery and Theft Criminal Defence Lawyer
Robbery is a crime that involves stealing from another person’s goods or property by way of violence, force, or threatening. This is usually both a crime of theft and violence.
There are a several types of robbery and theft crimes, each having variable levels of punishment under the law. If you have been charged with theft, it is critical to contact a Toronto criminal defence lawyer to help you in properly protecting your rights, whether it was petty theft or armed robbery. A criminal record from a robbery conviction will make it difficult to find employment, travel abroad, and cause inevitable issues with family and relationships.
Our law team has dealt with several hundred various theft & robbery crimes including:
- Petty Theft
- Auto Theft
- Shoplifting
- B & E
- Robbery
- Mail Theft
- Credit card theft
- Armed Robbery
- Identity theft
Theft & Robbery Penalties in Toronto
The Criminal Code of Canada States:
343 Robbery
343 Every one commits robbery who:
(a) steals, and for the purpose of extorting whatever is stolen or to prevent or overcome resistance to the stealing, uses violence or threats of violence to a person or property;
(b) steals from any person and, at the time he steals or immediately before or immediately thereafter, wounds, beats, strikes or uses any personal violence to that person;
(c) assaults any person with intent to steal from him; or
(d) steals from any person while armed with an offensive weapon or imitation thereof. R.S., c. C-34, s. 302.
344 Punishment for Robbery
344 Every one who commits robbery is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for life. R.S., c. C-34, s. 303; 1972, c. 13, s. 70.
322(1) Theft
322(1) Every one commits theft who fraudulently and without colour of right takes, or fraudulently and without colour of right converts to his use or to the use of another person, anything, whether animate or inanimate, with intent
(a) to deprive, temporarily or absolutely, the owner of it, or a person who has a special property or interest in it, of the thing or of his property or interest in it;
(b) to pledge it or deposit it as security;
(c) to part with it under a condition with respect to its return that the person who parts with it may be unable to perform; or
(d) to deal with it in such a manner that it cannot be restored in the condition in which it was at the time it was taken or converted.
334 Punishment for theft
334 Except where otherwise provided by law, every one who commits theft:
(a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, where the property stolen is a testamentary instrument or the value of what is stolen exceeds five thousand dollars; or
(b) is guilty
(i) of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or
(ii) of an offence punishable on summary conviction, where the value of what is stolen does not exceed five thousand dollars.
Have You Been Accused of or Charged with Robbery and/or Theft?
Our Toronto legal team has over 60+ years of experience in the defence of significant criminal circumstances, of all varieties of theft crimes. There are various strategies for each case, and our lawyers will examine the evidence and circumstances surrounding your charges, to determine your best defence. For example, there are frequent instances of mistaken identity, and circumstances of individuals leaving a store and forgetting to pay for an item. This can happen to just about anyone, and must be handled with care so that you do not end up with a criminal record unnecessarily.
Seek An Expert Defence Lawyer
During the investigation of more serious theft crimes, there may have been errors in law enforcement procedures, improper acknowledgement of your rights regarding search & seizure practices, or various other aspects of your situation that may work in your favour. Without criminal law experience, you would likely never know about these technicalities, so it is important that you seek an expert defence lawyer for your case to start gathering the evidence or witnesses testimonies that will work towards your best outcome.
Make sure you do not give any information to the police during questioning without the presence of a lawyer. If you learn that you are being investigated for a theft crime, do not respond to any questions, but politely inform the investigators that you would like to contact your lawyer first.
Call today to speak to one of our Toronto robbery and theft lawyers, who will protect you during the process, aggressively pursuing an ideal outcome of charges dismissed, withdrawn or a lesser sentence. See what our other clients are saying about us. We can help you too!
Client Testimonials
I appreciate the quick response. Stephen Hebscher gave me extremely good advice about my situation. I was being extorted by an employee of mine,and he helped me resolve the matter within days. Now I don¹t have this black cloud hanging over my head. I will highly suggest Stephen and The Criminal Law Team to anyone that needs the help of an experienced criminal lawyer! Thanks again!
M.A.
I came to Stephen Hebscher with a somewhat irregular case. Both my spouse and I had been mutually charged with domestic assault, a legal situation that neither of us had wished upon each other. While my spouse's lawyer had been content to seek mutually binding peace bonds, Stephen was able to get in front of the case and negotiate a withdrawal of both of our charges- the best possible outcome on BOTH sides of the table – once we successfully completing the PARs program. I remain entirely pleased with Stephen's competency, professionalism and accessibility, and would not hesitate to recommend him as a criminal defence lawyer. L.A.
Mr. Hebscher: I would like to thank you for your excellent representation of me in relation to the domestic assault charges that you worked so hard to have withdrawn. You have made a critical difference in my future and I am very happy with the outcome.
I also appreciate your hard work, and the extra time and effort you have put in to deal with all the other issues that came along. I thank you for being a phone call away (or email) even when you did not have to be.
I will gladly recommend your services to any of my friends or family should they ever need it. I am very grateful for what you have done.
M.B. Toronto
Dear Bruce Karten
I wanted to send a note to express my family’s gratitude for everything you have done for my brother. With his mental illness, and the serious charges that were laid against him that included arson and endangering life under the Criminal Code of Canada, we were terrified of what was going to happen to him. These charges could well have resulted in him being sentenced to jail for a period of 10 years or more.
I did not know what to expect when I made that first call to you, Bruce, but through the months it took to resolve this, your professionalism, knowledge and patience in explaining what you were planning to do in a way that we were able to understand, made us feel less anxious and more hopeful.
Thanks to you, his charges were substantially reduced and he received a sentence that allowed him to continue to receive the medical help he needs to recover and look to putting his life back together. Any period of jail would have been devastating to his chances of recovering from this devastating situation. We would recommend you, Bruce Karten, without hesitation, to anyone in need of an excellent criminal defense lawyer.
Thank you,
Shirley, T., Whitby, Ontario
Dear Mr. Hebscher: I wish to commend and thank you for your recent handling of my friend’s court case. Your compassionate and thorough scrutiny of the circumstances lead to a withdrawal verdict. Thank you so much. I was most impressed and should I ever be in a similar serious situation you will be the first person I call. Again, you represent all the good side of lawyers.
C.M.
Toronto, ON
Dear Mr. Hebscher: I would like to take this opportunity to thank you ever so much for your great professionalism and humane service to me at a time of profound confusion and in dire need of legal counsel. From my first introduction via telephone, your voice made me feel comfortable. Dealing with you from the beginning to end kept me reassured I was in good hands. The final outcome of my court case, which was “withdrawn” confirmed that I truly had a good lawyer on my side and it was your advocacy that convinced the crown. I would highly recommend you to anyone in need of an excellent criminal lawyer. Once again, I thank you and God bless.
M.J.
Toronto
Excellent news!
I am impressed especially after our meeting on Monday – I was resigned that something bad would befall me, so I am very blessed to have this outcome. I thank you for the hard work that you have put into this case, and the dedication on getting me this fantastic outcome!
I am so glad that we retained you as my lawyer! You have done an outstanding job and allowed me to now rebuild my life. Thank you, Bruce Karten.
Dave B. (Ajax, Ontario)
We were referred to Stephen Hebscher when our child was in need of legal representation. He was charged with sexual assault. As parents, we were quite frightened for our child but Mr. Hebscher was the calm voice of reason. We are very grateful to Mr. Hebscher for the excellent results he got for our child, as the charges were dropped.
J.N. (Toronto, Ontario)
Mr. Hebscher is a very professional lawyer who takes pride in his work and because of this the end result was the judge ruling me not guilty and I got my innocence and life back. My family and I would like to thank you again Stephen Hebscher for doing a wonderful job and also being a very supportive man.
Chris T. (Scarborough, Ontario)
I am happy to report that Bruce’s superior negotiation strategy and ability to present facts effectively helped convince the Crown to reduce his position. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Bruce for getting my charge withdrawn and keep my criminal record clean.
J.S (Toronto, Ontario)
I looked and found Barrister Stephen Hebscher I introduced myself and my case and after listening to all details he was able to ensure me that my case would go well. All charges against me have be thrown out and my life is back to normal.
Blair H. (North York)
Bruce ...The care and concern you showed us during our dealings certainly helped to reduce the stress we were under. I would recommend you without a second thought. Your winning record is a bonus as well. My husband and myself can't thank you enough for all you've done for our family.
Debi T. (Mississauga, Ontario)
Dear Mr. Hebscher...There are not enough words to express my appreciation for your...giving me your undivided attention at all times, work in my case with your heart and soul, that makes you "ONE OF A KIND" lawyer.
Ahmed A. (Brampton, Ontario)
Mr. Bruce Karten was able to help to extricate me from a very serious criminal case containing severe charges, including weapons –threat to use weapons, death threat, harassment,etc. He succeeded in winning my case. I was discharged; was able to keep my career, and no criminal record. This was a tremendous accomplishment, and I am very appreciative of that.
Nickolai V. (Toronto, Ontario)
Again, from the depth of our hearts we sincerely thank you very much for being my Counsel on this case. We now can say you are the BEST and we will surely recommend you to our friends and anybody here we know who needs the best Lawyer in Ontario. You have done an extremely good job and we are very happy with the outcome this morning.
Roman A. (Markham, Ontario)
Mr. Hebscher was the only lawyer who gave me hope and made me feel like I had a real fighting chance. I am extremely satisfied with the quick results that he delivered, and I am happy to say that he was able to convince the court to drop the charges against me and clear my name.
Tina M. (Toronto, Ontario)
