Brandon Sun - PRINT EDITION
Jail will be home for a man who committed an armed robbery in which he is said to have clumsily cut his accomplice with his knife.
It was a horrifying crime, said the sentencing judge — the victim had a knife held to his neck and was threatened with death if he called police.
“This is a horrendous incident and calls for a strong message,” Judge John Combs said as he imposed a sentence of 17 months in jail.
Nicholas Joseph Halcrow-Jewels, 19, pleaded guilty on Thursday to robbery with a weapon.
Crown attorney Marycia Kruk said that, on Oct. 16 around 1:30 a.m., Halcrow-Jewels confronted a man who was walking in the back lane on the 300-block of 13th Street.
Halcrow-Jewels pulled a knife, forced the man into a yard, put the knife to the back of the victim’s neck and forced him to his knees.
“You move and I’ll slit your neck,” Halcrow-Jewels told him.
Another man then emerged from between a pair of buildings and repeatedly punched and kicked the victim in the head and face.
The second man then picked the victim up off the ground and Halcrow-Jewels said, “I want to cut him up, I want to knife him.”
Halcrow-Jewels moved his hand but didn’t cut the victim, Kruk said. He wound up cutting his accomplice instead, seemingly by mistake.
The victim handed over his cellphone, identification, bank card, credit card, $160 cash and a store gift card worth $250.
As the robbers left, Halcrow-Jewels told the man: “You call the cops and I’ll … kill you.”
The victim, however, went immediately to the police station to report the crime.
The man’s clothes were covered in blood — not his, but apparently the blood of Halcrow-Jewels’ accomplice.
The victim had suffered three cuts to the back of his head, but the injuries weren’t caused by the knife.
Police got a break around 2:40 a.m. when they were called to an 11th Street apartment by a woman who wanted her boyfriend removed. The boyfriend is allegedly Halcrow-Jewels’ accomplice.
Police found fresh blood in a common area along with identification that belonged to the victim.
They followed the trail of blood to the bathroom where they found more blood and water in the sink, and a kitchen knife with blood on it.
Officers were then drawn to another room by the sound of talking and found Halcrow-Jewels and his accomplice.
Halcrow-Jewels matched the description supplied by the victim and there was a cellphone in his pocket that matched the victim’s.
Defence lawyer Ryan Fawcett said that Halcrow-Jewels was intoxicated at the time of the robbery — he’d taken Lorazepam and doesn’t remember specifics of the crime.
He had no prior criminal record.
Combs sentenced Halcrow-Jewels to 18 months in jail, minus one month pre-sentence custody, which leaves 17 months to serve.
Jail will be followed by 18 months of probation.
Another man still faces charges in relation to the robbery.
» ihitchen@brandonsun.com
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition March 16, 2013
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Jail will be home for a man who committed an armed robbery in which he is said to have clumsily cut his accomplice with his knife.
It was a horrifying crime, said the sentencing judge — the victim had a knife held to his neck and was threatened with death if he called police.
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Jail will be home for a man who committed an armed robbery in which he is said to have clumsily cut his accomplice with his knife.
It was a horrifying crime, said the sentencing judge — the victim had a knife held to his neck and was threatened with death if he called police.
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