Case information

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Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

Criminal law - Attempted murder - Transferred intent - Whether transferred intent can be considered for a charge of attempted murder - What crime does a person commit who intends to kill another person but, by accident or mistake, hurts or injures somebody else?

One August night, many pedestrians were standing on the street outside L’Expresso Café and Bar. The Respondent and two friends wanted to buy marijuana. They approached the Café and one of them offered an individual, Andre Thompson, money for an ounce of marijuana. He was angered by the offer, considering it ‘lowball’ and punched both the Respondent and one of his friends. The Respondent and his friends scattered. Within minutes of the altercation, a man dressed in black returned to the vicinity with a sawed-off shotgun. He fired three blasts in the direction of Andre Thompson and those standing near him on the sidewalk around the Café. The Respondent was the person firing the shotgun. None of the pellets hit Thompson, who ran into the bar, through the premises and out the back door. Three other people were shot. The Respondent was charged with nine counts. For each victim struck by shotgun pellets, he was charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault. In relation to Andre Thompson, he was charged with attempted murder, discharging a firearm with intent and pointing a firearm. The jury found the Respondent guilty on all counts. The trial judge invoked the principles articulated in R. v. Kienapple, [1975] 1 S.C.R. 729, and entered conditional stays on all counts except those that charged attempted murder. The Respondent was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment.