A 21-year-old Sechelt man will serve a further year and a half in jail, on top of the nine months already served, for committing a string of robberies in downtown Sechelt in 2004 and 2005.
He will also serve a concurrent six-month jail sentence for a break and enter spree of Sechelt businesses. A two-year probation order will follow the jail sentence.
Judge Carol Baird Ellan sentenced Joshua Holl in Sechelt provincial court Tuesday. Holl earlier pleaded guilty to the offences. He was sentenced for three counts of robbery and three counts of break and enter.
The Crown stayed one count of break and enter, one count of possession of a controlled substance and one count of disguising face with intent to commit an offence. Holl has remained in custody since he turned himself in to Sunshine Coast RCMP on July 28, 2005 after taking $20 from the till at the Village Restaurant. He then volunteered confessions to a series of robberies and break and enters in 2004.
Crown counsel Trevor Cockfield recommended a five-year sentence for all the charges combined, minus the time already served. Defence lawyer Darcy Lawrence requested a sentence in the range of 12 to 18 months. Both lawyers agreed Holl was heavily addicted to crack cocaine at the time of the offences. Most of his offences involved other males, whose names were not mentioned in his confessions.
In March, 2004 he robbed the Sechelt Family Mart with a covered face by smashing the counter with a wooden bat and yelling at the cashier, Cock-field told the court. In a February, 2004 robbery of the former Corner Cupboard store in West Sechelt, Holl told police he drove the getaway vehicle, Cockfield said, and that he needed the money to buy crack cocaine.
On June 9, 2004 he broke into the Photoworks store overnight and stole $11,000 worth of cameras and binoculars, Cockfield said. On June 19, 2004 he broke into Suncoast Lock & Safe and stole Swiss Army knives, watches and lighters, after casing the store the day before. On June 27, 2004 he broke into Al's Power Plus and stole seven chainsaws ranging in value from $700 to $1,200.
Cockfield noted Holl has a lengthy criminal record including 13 break and enter convictions for which he served jail time, and said Holl has shown he cannot be rehabilitated.
"My submission is at this point protection of the public is all that is left," Cockfield told the court. "The public needs to be protected from Mr. Holl for some period of time."
He noted the increased level of crime shown by Holl graduating from break and enters to robberies. He noted that one victim was afraid to work after the robbery.
Lawrence told the court Holl has completed substance abuse and violence prevention programs while in custody and wants to go to a recovery house upon his release.
"Mr. Holl is an intelligent young man who has made very poor choices," Lawrence said. "He wants to change. One cannot give up on an individual; rehabilitation is still a factor your honour must consider."
Baird Ellan said protection of the public figures prominently because there was violence and disguise, in addition to the amount of property stolen. She took Holl's age into account in sentencing, along with the fact he had turned himself in to police and that he was driven by a crack addiction.
"You are willing and able to be rehabilitated, in my view, if you make the right choices," Baird Ellan said to Holl, while he watched the proceedings from the prisoner's box.
In her sentencing, she referred to a statement Holl had just read to the court, which she said showed her he has good intentions to turn his life around. In the statement, Holl told the court his life of crime began after his father died in a plane crash, after which he turned to drugs rather than dealing with the tragedy.
"To some of the people on the Sunshine Coast, the name Joshua Holl might not mean anything," Holl read. "But to some of you it means liar, thief or drug abuser. I've made some very poor decisions in my life that have resulted in problems with friends, family and my community. I've lied, cheated and stolen from way too many people who deserved better The only thing I want now is to rebuild the trust I once had and show everyone including myself how smart and skilled I really am. I'd also like to take this time to tell everyone that I've ever hurt that I'm sorry and that I hope someday you can forgive me."
