A person can be found to commit Robbery in several different ways. For example, in R. v. Breese, [2020] O.J. No. 4560, the accused, leading a group with two other men, entered a TD Bank and fired a handgun into the air. He then said “don’t make me use this gun again”, and the group ultimately left the bank with $500. Despite the relatively low sum of money, the use of the gun and threat of using it again falls within section 343(a), which requires that violence or threats of violence be used to overcome resistance to the stealing.
Robbery can also be committed where the robber wounds, beats, strikes, or uses any personal violence against the victim either during or immediately before or after the stealing. In R. v. Wabano, [2020] O.J. No. 979, the accused opened the victim’s car door, stabbed her in the arm, and then demanded her purse. The victim was able to tackle the accused and recover her purse. Given the violence used just before the Robbery, the accused was convicted of Robbery under section 343(b) of the Criminal Code.
Even where a person does not actually succeed in stealing anything, they can be charged with Robbery pursuant to section 343(c) if they assault somebody with the intent to steal from them. For example, in R. v. Di-Folca, [2017] O.J. No. 1766, the accused had gotten into the victim’s car, and attempted to steal the victim’s phone. The accused was charged with Robbery under section 343(c). The defendant argued that there was no assault sufficient for section 343(c); there was minimal force used in grabbing the phone from the victim’s hand. However, the Court convicted the accused, due to the Criminal Code definition of assault (intentional application of force directly or indirectly). Since the victim was holding his phone, and it was taken from his hands, the force used was at least indirectly applied to the victim, if not directly. The fact that it was a relatively minor level of force did not matter: “a ‘mere assault’, rather than any display of violence, is sufficient to establish the offence under s. 343(c).”
A Robbery also occurs whenever a person steals from another person while armed with an offensive weapon or an imitation thereof, regardless of whether the weapon is actually used. In R. v. Treleaven, [2017] O.J. No. 7073, the accused held the victim at gunpoint and took $80.00 from his pocket. The victim’s shoes were also taken and put in a bag. Even though the gun was never fired, the accused was convicted of Robbery under section 343(d).
