Weapon Assault Lawyer in Brampton

A weapon can be anything that is designed to be used or intended to be used to cause death or injury to a person or to threaten or intimidate a person. This includes imitation weapons, such as BB guns. For example, in R. v. Almeda-Rodriguez, [2020] O.J. No. 905, the accused used an imitation firearm against the complainant in broad daylight on a busy street. The fact that the weapon used was not a real firearm did not diminish the accused’s moral blameworthiness during his sentencing hearing. Even if a person does not actually have a weapon at the time, they can be charged with Assault With a Weapon if they threatened to use a weapon. Similarly, a person can be charged with Assault With a Weapon even if they do not actually use the weapon to hurt the complainant; so long as there is a threat to use the weapon, this may be sufficient for a charge. For example, in R. v. Mateo-Asencio, [2018] O.J. No. 92, the act of posing in a “batter’s stance” with a baseball bat satisfied the physical element of Assault With a Weapon. However, just like simple Assault, “Self-defence” is available for Assault With a Weapon or Assault Causing Bodily Harm. In R. v. Mateo-Asencio, [2018] O.J. No. 92, the brandishing of the bat, despite constituting an Assault With a Weapon, was held to be validly in self-defence as a response to aggressive behaviour from the complainant, including poking the accused’s chest and instigating a fight.

Bodily harm is defined as any injury that interferes with the health or comfort of a person and is more than transient or trifling in nature. ‘Transient or trifling in nature’ is taken to be a short amount of time and very minimal injury. Bodily harm can also include psychological harm that interferes in any way with the physical or psychological integrity, health or well-being of the complainant.