SASK - VLT losses spurred man to robberies, court hears
Darren Bernhardt, The StarPhoenix
Thursday, December 07, 2006
A Martensville man who committed two armed robberies and then turned himself in to police is going to a federal penitentiary for the next two years and four months.
Mitchell Grenier, 23, stood solemn-faced, but several of the family members and friends who fi lled the gallery began sobbing moments after Justice Mona Dovell delivered the sentence. She also ordered Grenier to submit a DNA sample to the national databank.
“I clearly acknowledge that I’ve caused a lot of grief and trauma. I’m . . . deeply sorry for what I’ve done,” Grenier told the court.
The sentence is less than the three years Crown prosecutor Robin Ritter had sought, but signifi - cantly harsher than defence lawyer Aaron Fox’s recommendations.
Fox suggested a conditional sentence of two years less a day, to be served in the community. He noted Grenier’s criminal record is a minor one — breaches and possession of a controlled substance — and the robberies were motivated by “the demons Mitch is trying to deal with,” not a desire to rob anyone.
In addition to gambling issues, Grenier has a substance and alcohol abuse problem, court heard.
But Fox said bail offi cers working with Grenier “do not see any benefi t from incarcerating him. In their opinion, Mitch is manageable in the community.” Ritter noted the robberies occurred while Grenier was already on probation for previous offences, and Dovell referred to an assessment report that listed Grenier as an immediate risk to re-offend.
“A conditional sentence is not appropriate under the circumstances,” Dovell said, denouncing Grenier’s actions in pointing a fi rearm at innocent people.
She did, however, give him “great credit” for turning himself in and confessing to the crimes.
“It is a great shame he is before the court today and he knows that,” Dovell said.
The robberies occurred on Aug. 21, 2005, after Grenier had a run of bad luck playing VLTs. The previous day he had won $500, but 24 hours later he had blown it all, including $50 borrowed from his grandmother.
According to the statement of facts, Grenier went to his family’s acreage and took a coat, backpack and .22 long-barrelled rifl e. It was a scheme he had devised during another low point but never carried out.
He removed the licence plate from his pickup truck and travelled the back roads into Saskatoon.
He pulled into the Mohawk gas station on Idylwyld Drive North at 7:55 p.m. and went in wearing a ski mask and holding the gun.
He gestured at a female employee to go to the cash register, but she ran into a back storage room and Grenier fl ed without taking anything.
At 8:20 p.m., he arrived at the Shell station on Thatcher Avenue and went in with the same disguise.
He levelled the gun at the chest of the clerk, tossed the backpack on the counter and demanded all the cash from the register. He left with $150.
Back in Martensville shortly afterward, he confessed to his brother and then to his family, who called a lawyer friend. The next day Grenier gave himself up to police.
dbernhardt@sp.canwest.com
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2006
© 2006 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc.
