Digest: R v J.P., 2018 SKQB 96

• Date: March 18, 2019

Reported as: 2018 SKQB 96

Docket Number: CRM 47/16 JCR , QB18064

Court: Court of Queen's Bench

Date: 2019-03-18

Judges:

• Elson

Subjects:

• Criminal Law � Robbery � Sentencing
• Criminal Law � Break and Enter and Commit � Sentencing
• Criminal Law � Gladue Report

Digest: After trial, the accused was found guilty on two counts of robbery and on arraignment for that trial pled guilty to one count of breaching an undertaking. He orchestrated both robberies by directing his 14-year-old nephew to enter stores and steal cash and cigarettes while masked and armed. The accused plead guilty in Provincial Court to two counts of possession of stolen property, one count of theft, one count of break, enter and theft in a dwelling house, one count of possession of marijuana and one count of breaching recognizance. Those pleas were transferred to the Court of Queen�s Bench for a global sentence. A Gladue report indicated that the 40-year-old accused grew up with alcoholism, violence and abuse. His step-father taught him to steal and introduced him to alcohol and drugs. He had a lengthy criminal record. He suffered from FASD and impaired intellectual skills. The Crown sought a global sentence of 10 to 12 years� imprisonment. The defence sought to accommodate restorative justice objectives by a sentence wherein the accused would be subject to custodial restriction and judicial restraint for a total of eight years, albeit not in actual custody after reduction of three and a half years� remand credit.
HELD: A 10-year custodial sentence was a fit and proper global sentence. The sentence was comprised of: 1) seven years� imprisonment on each of the robbery counts, running concurrently; 2) two years� imprisonment on the housebreaking count, served consecutively to sentence one; 3) 12 months� imprisonment for each of one count of possession of unlawfully obtained property and two counts of stealing, running concurrent with each other, but consecutively to sentences one and two; and 4) 30 days� imprisonment for each of breach of recognizances, breach of undertaking and possession of marijuana, all served concurrently with each other and with sentence three. There were aggravating circumstances including the accused�s lengthy record for property convictions, the vulnerability of the businesses robbed, pre-planning of the robberies, non-recovery of the stolen items and the accused�s exploitation of his nephew in commission of offences. Moral...