Teen sentenced for taking part in group robbery

A teen has been sentenced to several months in custody for his part in a four-on-one armed robbery.

The 19-year-old pleaded guilty in January to robbery, assault with a weapon, using an imitation firearm in the commission of a robbery and possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

The Youth Criminal Justice Act prohibits the Sun from identifying the man, who was under 18 at the time of the offences.

The Crown and defence jointly recommended in Brandon provincial court on Tuesday that the judge sentence the teen to an eight-month custody and supervision order, followed by 12 months of probation.

A custody and supervision order is a sentence under the YCJA, in which the offender spends a portion — usually two-thirds — of the sentence in custody and the last portion under strict supervision in the community.

The youth has already spent 80 days in custody, which will not go toward his sentence going forward.

On Sept. 3, 2024, the teen and three other males confronted a man outside of the Community Health and Housing Association at 1233 Rosser Ave. The teen was armed with a machete, while two of the other assailants had an imitation firearm and bear spray, court heard when the teen entered his guilty pleas.

The group robbed the victim of his hat and Nike shoes, and before leaving, one of the males sprayed the victim with bear spray, court heard.

The altercation was caught on video, and police identified two of the four suspects, court heard. The victim was unco-operative with prosecution, Crown attorney Nikki Boggs said on Tuesday.

Boggs described the joint recommendation as a “true plea bargain,” noting that identification could have been an issue brought up at trial.

While the Crown had no information from the victim, Boggs described the robbery as “very intimidating” and said the judge could infer “what it would be like to be confronted by four individuals who have weapons.”

Defence lawyer Hayley Allardyce said her client’s personal circumstances, which included what she described as “significant Gladue factors,” contributed to the offence that brought him to court.

She said a “notable” amount of the teen’s family members attended residential school, and he spent most of his life in foster care. He recalled going through around 10 placements, and none of them appeared to be with his siblings, she said.

“He grew up surrounded by alcohol and drug use, which is definitely something that informed the offence,” Allardyce said.

Allardyce said the teen has demonstrated victim empathy, articulating that he felt for the victim and saying, “If that was me, I would probably be scared,” she said.

Beyond that, she said he acknowledged he should have walked away that night, not drank alcohol and chosen better friends.

“He advised me that it was someone else’s idea. He essentially, because he was under the influence of alcohol, decided to go along with it,” she said.

While she acknowledged the teen was assessed as a high risk to reoffend, she said the Gladue factors the court is supposed to consider and exercise restraint with tend to be the same factors that contribute to someone being assessed as a high risk to reoffend.

“In my respectful view, (his) background, his alcohol use, is directly related to his Gladue factors,” she said.

Judge Patrick Sullivan accepted the joint recommendation and told the teen that he’s at a “crossroads” now that he is an adult.

“If you do not change your approach to how you’re conducting yourself in the community, you’re at risk of spending a very large part of your life in custody,” he said.

He emphasized that the choices the teen makes over the next few months and years will “largely determine the course of your life.”

» sanderson@brandonsun.com