Pickering criminal defence — daily coverage of Durham Region courts.

Toronto or Durham? Why the location of the offence matters

Pickering shares its western boundary with Scarborough along the Rouge, and many residents work, shop and drive on both sides. The court is decided by where the alleged offence happened, not where you live. An incident at Pickering Town Centre or on Brock Road goes to the Durham Region Courthouse in Oshawa; the same incident a few minutes west would be heard at the Toronto Courthouse on Armoury Street. Aaron handles both, which matters when charges from separate days land in different jurisdictions — see our Scarborough page.

The path from charge to pre-trial

After release or bail, the first Oshawa appearance is administrative. Durham Crown disclosure — officers’ notes, video, statements — usually arrives in stages, and the defence requests anything missing in writing. A Crown pre-trial then explores resolution, and a judicial pre-trial follows where the judge helps fix trial time or encourages a resolution if the evidence is thin. The Crown’s disclosure obligation is continuing, so new material can arrive right up to trial, and each new item is reviewed as it comes in.

Local patterns: highways and retail

Durham Regional Police and the OPP run enforcement along the 401 and the 407 toll corridor, and stops near the Liverpool Road and Brock Road exits can lead to impaired or driving charges. Retail theft allegations at the larger shopping centres also arise, and a first-time shoplifting charge can often be resolved without a criminal record if handled carefully from the outset.

First steps and working with Aaron

In the first day or two, keep your documents, honour every condition, preserve receipts, messages or dashcam footage that might help, and say nothing about the allegation to store staff, police or friends. Then call. Aaron consults by phone or video from North York, appears on routine Oshawa dates where counsel may attend without you, and attends in person for bail, pre-trials and trial.

If a family member was arrested in Pickering overnight, call before the bail hearing. Aaron can speak with the accused, assess possible sureties, and decide whether to contest the hearing or negotiate a consent release with the Crown. A well-prepared plan — a surety with a stable home and a realistic supervision arrangement — often matters more than anything said in court. See our bail hearings page.