and one more to add to the list
Ottawa woman dragged by car in jewelry theft contributed to her injuries: lawyer
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By Andrew Seymour, Ottawa Citizen January 25, 2011
OTTAWA —A woman who suffered a traumatic brain injury after being dragged by a car driven by robbers who stole her diamond bracelet contributed to her own fate, the defence lawyer for the car’s driver argued Monday.
Ewan Lyttle said both the driver, Yonis Awais Hassan, and the victim made “grave errors in judgment” on Aug. 17, 2009, when a then-18-year-old Hassan and his 17-year-old accomplice went to the woman’s Orléans home to steal a $2,520 diamond and sapphire bracelet she had advertised for sale on the website UsedOttawa.com.
The plan went awry, according to Hassan, when the victim chased the 17-year-old to their getaway car and began “scratching and fighting” with the other teen through an open window. Hassan said he panicked and then sped away, his eyes on the road and not on what a Crown prosecutor described as the “life-and-death struggle” in the seat next to him.
Lyttle stressed that Hassan was in no way blaming the victim for what happened, but argued her actions were “legally relevant” and should play a factor when Ontario Court Justice Lise Maisonneuve sentences Hassan for aggravated assault and robbery.
But the victim, who told Maisonneuve she had entertained thoughts of suicide since the assault that left her with fractured skull, had every right to defend herself and her property and was not responsible for Hassan’s actions in any way, argued prosecutor Lisa Miles.
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