Time served for ‘exceptional offender’ who robbed Tims

A man who robbed a Brandon Tim Hortons while armed with a knife was sentenced on Wednesday to almost two years of time served.

Dallas Morrisseau, 26, previously pleaded guilty to robbery with violence and breaching a release order.

Crown attorney Yaso Mathu and defence lawyer Manny Bhangu jointly recommended the sentence of 672 days of time already served, which Judge Patrick Sullivan imposed in Brandon provincial court.

Sentences for this type of offending normally range from two to four years, Mathu said.

However, she described the period of Morrisseau’s life when the offence occurred as him hitting “rock bottom” and said since his release from custody in September, he has been residing at a treatment centre, maintained sobriety and hasn’t had any more allegations of reoffending.

“We talk about … exceptional sentences for exceptional offenders, and in this case, I would submit that … Mr. Morrisseau falls in that category,” Mathu said.

“I think that reincarceration of Mr. Morrisseau would not be in the public interest.”

On the afternoon of June 18, 2024, members of the Brandon Police Service were sent to the Tim Hortons location on Middleton Avenue after receiving a report of a robbery.

The manager at the restaurant told police the suspect had run north through a tree line along Deer Ridge Golf Course, Mathu said. Police eventually found Morrisseau at The Little Chalet Motel and arrested him, court heard.

The cashier at Tim Hortons told police the suspect came up to the till “aggressively” when it was his turn to order and ordered two doughnuts.

The cashier told the man the price, and he demanded the employee to give him all the $20 bills in the till.

“(The employee) asked him, ‘Are you really doing this?’ That’s when Morrisseau pulled out the blade and said, ‘Open the till right now,” the Crown said.

Mathu said Morrisseau told the employee, “If you don’t open the till, I’ll jump over the counter and get it myself.”

He reached into the till, grabbed the money and left without saying anything, court heard.

The employee described the knife as a folding-style knife with a three-to-four-inch blade, and the manager later confirmed $400 in cash had been stolen, Mathu said.

Surveillance footage from the business showed the suspect with a white cloth around his face and a garbage bag wrapped around his right forearm. When police found Morrisseau at the motel, he was wearing the same black shirt and light-coloured pants as the man in the video, court heard.

“We know that robberies of commercial businesses are unfortunately far too prevalent, and people who work at these places are vulnerable,” the Crown said. She added that staff don’t usually have training for managing these types of situations.

The time-served sentence is still a “significant” amount of time in custody, she said, and sends a message to the public that this is a serious offence.

The lawyers also asked that the sentence be followed by two years unsupervised probation, which included a condition prohibiting Morrisseau from going to any Tim Hortons in the city.

Bhangu said his client was in the “throes” of a methamphetamine addiction at the time of the robbery and has since had time to reflect on how he got to that point.

Morrisseau had an unstable upbringing and moved to Winnipeg, where he worked in construction and got into the habit of working during the week and “partying” on the weekends, his lawyer said.

This led to an addiction to cocaine and alcohol, and he eventually progressed to using harder drugs, court heard. He said his family also had a history of involvement with residential schools and substance abuse.

“The one thing that was driving him in his life at that time was trying to get more drugs,” Bhangu said. “That was the mindset he was in on this date when he went into the Tim Hortons.”

He said Morrisseau is “extremely sorry” for his actions and is now a senior member at the treatment centre where he resides, helping other members by bringing them to their court appearances.

Morrisseau told the court he still feels guilty over his actions, and while he can’t change what he did, he can change his behaviour going forward.

He said he appreciated the time he spent in jail and at the treatment centre. He has now been sober for two years, he said.

“I can tell that you are a mature person, you’re intelligent and have demonstrated significant growth,” the judge said.

Sullivan said the shame Morrisseau feels is natural and may motivate him to stick to his program.

While the sentence is below the normal range, Sullivan said it’s not much lower and is appropriate considering the circumstances.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com