R. v. Haggstrom Date:, 2017 BCPC 190

Citation: R. v. Haggstrom Date: 20170111 2017 BCPC 190 File No: 217184-2-C File No: 217184-3-A Registry: Surrey IN THE PROVINCIAL COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Criminal REGINA v. ROBERT JADE HAGGSTROM ORAL REASONS FOR SENTENCE OF THE HONOURABLE REGIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE R. HAMILTON Counsel for the Crown: J. Jantunen Counsel for the Defendant: E. dos Santos Place of Hearing: Surrey , B.C. Date of Hearing: January 11, 2017 Date of Judgment: January 11, 2017 [ 1 ] These are my rather hastily-prepared reasons for sentencing Mr. Haggstrom after he entered a guilty plea to two robberies

[ 1 ] These are my rather hastily-prepared reasons for sentencing Mr. Haggstrom after he entered a guilty plea to two robberies dating back to June 4 and June 9, 2016, as well as a guilty plea to breaching his bail. [ 2 ] The primary sentencing principles that I am to consider in reaching a fit sentence for Mr. Haggstrom are denunciation, deterrence, both specific and general, and the rehabilitation of Mr. Haggstrom. [ 3 ] Briefly, last June, Mr. Haggstrom owed a drug debt to his dealer, Mr. Leroy Catcheway. Mr. Haggstrom, at the time, was addicted to crystal-meth, which he used along with his girlfriend.

To repay the drug debt, Mr. Haggstrom agreed to rob two 7-Eleven convenience stores in the company of Mr. Catcheway. [ 4 ] The two men committed these robberies with their faces masked. They confined the store employee and stole cigarettes, placing them in a garbage bag. [ 5 ] During the robbery on June 9 th , a police officer happened to stop at the 7-Eleven store and caught the two men robbing that store. Mr. Haggstrom was confronted by the police officer, but he fled the scene. He was shortly thereafter captured by a police dog. [ 6 ] When he was interviewed by the police, Mr.

Haggstrom immediately confessed to the June 9 th robbery, and he went further and admitted to being responsible for an earlier robbery. That is the robbery that occurred on June 4 th . [ 7 ] Mr. Haggstrom was released on bail, and a term of his bail was to reside at VisionQuest. En route to VisionQuest, Mr. Haggstrom jumped out of the van and he fled.

Those are the circumstances that pertain to the charge for breaching his bail. [ 8 ] Before me, the Crown seeks a three-year jail sentence, concurrently, for each robbery, and with respect to the conviction for breaching his bail, the Crown submits that a fit sentence would be one day in jail, with 12 days credit for time served. [ 9 ] Mr. Haggstrom seeks a one-year jail sentence on top of the eight-and-a-half months of time served, calculated on an enhanced basis, for a total of 20-and-a-half months jail. [ 10 ] Mr. Haggstrom comes from a difficult background.

His mother was an addict; his father was not involved in his life. He was raised by his grandparents in Alberta. [ 11 ] He came to British Columbia, and upon his arrival here in British Columbia, he moved to the Downtown Eastside where he rather quickly became involved in the drug culture. He and his girlfriend decided to experiment with crystal-meth to see what it was like and they never stopped using. [ 12 ] He has no criminal record. [ 13 ] The aggravating circumstances of the robbery offences are the fact that Mr.

Haggstrom had his face masked during these robberies, which, although he has not been charged with this, is actually a separate criminal offence. These robberies were premediated, the store employees were confined, and Mr. Haggstrom fled from the police officer when he was caught during the June 9th robbery. [ 14 ] The mitigating circumstances are that Mr. Haggstrom has no criminal record. He has not run into conflict with the criminal justice system at any point until he got caught for these robberies. He is also a very young man. He is only 21 years old.

He immediately took responsibility for his role in the June 9 th robbery, and rather significantly, in my view, he confessed to the June 4 th robbery in circumstances where there was no evidence connecting him to that robbery. [ 15 ] In terms of denunciation, society abhors drug addicts robbing stores and victimizing innocent store employees. [ 16 ] With respect to general deterrence, the sentence that I impose should deter other drug addicts who are thinking of committing robberies, such that they will not commit those robberies out of a concern for the sentence that would be imposed. [ 17 ] In terms of specific deterrence, the sentence that I impose has to deter Mr.

Haggstrom from ever committing really any crime, but certainly any other robberies. [ 18 ] In terms of rehabilitation, the sentence that I impose should give Mr. Haggstrom a chance to get back on track, leading a drug- free, law-abiding life. [ 19 ] I was referred to a number of cases and I am satisfied that, generally speaking, the range of sentence in circumstances where an accused person has a limited record or no record, up to accused who have serious criminal records, is between two and nine years in jail. That range was established by the British Columbia Court of Appeal in the case of R. v.

Brogan . [ 20 ] In my view, the appropriate sentence to impose in this case is two years in jail, followed by two years of probation. My view is that a sentence of that length sends an appropriate message that if you commit robberies in these circumstances, you will receive a significant jail term, especially for a first-time offender, but most significantly, the two years of probation will allow for Mr.

Haggstrom's rehabilitation through counselling and abstinence terms. [ 21 ] I appreciate that the sentence I am imposing is at the very bottom end of the range that has been established by the caselaw, but my view is that there are significant mitigating factors in this case. Mr. Haggstrom is very young. He has no record. He immediately accepted responsibility, although he was caught red-handed, but more significantly, he admitted to the earlier robbery for which there was no evidence connecting him. Those mitigating circumstances bode very well for Mr.

Haggstrom's rehabilitation, and imposing a period of probation will ensure that Mr. Haggstrom is monitored upon his release back into society. It also gives him the necessary resources to assist him in leaving his drug-addicted lifestyle and returning to being a productive member of society. [ 22 ] So I am imposing two years in jail for each of the two robbery convictions. Those two years in jail are to run concurrently with

each other, and they will be followed by two years of probation, the terms of which I will refer to in a moment. [ 23 ] For the conviction for breaching his bail, he will serve one day in jail, and his record will reflect 12 days credit for time served. [ 24 ] Mr. Haggstrom, in respect of the two robbery convictions, will receive credit for eight-and-a-half months of pre-sentence detention, leaving him with 15-and-a-half months of time left to serve, followed by the terms of probation. [ 25 ] While on probation for two years, Mr. Haggstrom will keep the peace and be of good behaviour.

He will appear before the court when required to do so by the court.

He will notify the court or his probation officer in advance of any change of his name or address, and promptly notify the court or his probation officer of any change of his employment or occupation. [ 26 ] He will report by 2:00 p.m. on the first business day following his release from custody to the probation officer located at suite number 102, 14245 - 56 th Avenue in Surrey, British Columbia, and he will report thereafter as and when directed to report by his probation officer. [ 27 ] He will reside where directed by his probation officer, and he is not to change his residence without the prior written permission of his probation officer. [ 28 ] He is not to be found inside the commercial premises operated as a 7-Eleven convenience store anywhere in the Province of British Columbia. [ 29 ] He will attend, participate in and successfully complete such counselling as directed by his probation officer, which may include, but will not be limited to, substance abuse counselling. [ 30 ] He will abstain absolutely from the possession and consumption of alcohol and/or non-prescription drugs, or those drugs as defined under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act . [ 31 ] He is prohibited from owning, possessing or carrying any weapons as defined by the Criminal Code , including any knives, except for the immediate preparation and consumption of food, or during the course of lawful employment. [ 32 ] He is not to possess any firearm, crossbow, prohibited weapon, restricted weapon, imitation weapon, prohibited device, ammunition, prohibited ammunition, explosive substance or any of those things, and any related authorizations, licences and registration certificates. [ 33 ] I impose a lifetime firearm prohibition pursuant to s. 109 of the Criminal Code . [ 34 ] Mr.

Haggstrom will provide a sample of his DNA, which will be taken from him while he is in custody. [ 35 ] In terms of the three victim fine surcharges, they are to be paid forthwith, and upon default, he will serve one day in jail for each of those unpaid fines. Those three days in jail will run concurrently with each other and concurrently with the other sentence I have imposed today. [ 36 ] MR. JANTUNEN: Thank you, Your Honour. The Crown directs a stay of proceedings on the remaining counts on Information 217184-2-C, and on Information 217184-4-A.

So just to be clear, the charges related to the co-accused on a 6-C Information are remaining active. [ 37 ] THE COURT: Okay. [ 38 ] MR. JANTUNEN: Thank you, Your Honour. [ 39 ] MR. DOS SANTOS: Thank you very much. I thank my friend. (REASONS FOR SENTENCE CONCLUDED)