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The offender was sentenced to 8 years consecutive for an armed pharmacy robbery involving fentanyl while on parole.
The offender, Matthew Armstrong, was sentenced for serious offences including robbery of a Shoppers Drug Mart while armed and masked, theft of a motor vehicle, and driving while disqualified.
The Crown sought 8-10 years, while the defence argued for 5-6 years.
The court considered aggravating factors such as a lengthy criminal record, parole status at the time of the offence, the vulnerability of pharmacies, significant victim impact, the dangerous nature and quantity of stolen fentanyl, and the offender's role in planning the robbery.
Mitigating factors included a disadvantaged childhood and expressed desire for change, though given modest weight due to a history of re-offending.
The court applied sentencing principles including denunciation, deterrence, proportionality, and totality, ultimately imposing a global sentence of 8 years consecutive to his existing sentence.
Accused found guilty of armed robbery based on circumstantial evidence including video identification and tattoos.
The accused was charged with multiple offences following an armed robbery at a Shoppers Drug Mart by two masked men.
The Crown's case relied entirely on circumstantial evidence, including video surveillance, Facebook messages, and the testimony of an unsavoury witness.
The court applied the Nikolovski principles for video identification and the Villaroman framework for circumstantial evidence.
The court concluded that the totality of the circumstantial evidence, including similarities in tattoos, clothing, and a recovered glove, proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused was one of the perpetrators.
The accused was found guilty on all counts.
