Kelowna Law Courts

(KATHY MICHAELS / iNFOnews.ca)

A Kelowna man who was part of a two-person armed robbery of a Subway sandwich shop in 2017 was given a relatively light sentence after showing a marked effort to improve his lot in life.

Jonathan Graham Jarvis, 38, pleaded guilty to an Aug. 8, 2017 robbery of the Subway on Springfield Road and was sentenced to nine months in prison. Generally, the normal range of sentence in a robbery case involving a firearm is between two and nine years.

According to a court decision by Justice Steven Wilson published this week, Jarvis was involved with the robbery that saw one person enter the Kelowna sandwich shop using an imitation handgun and demanding that the till be handed over.

“The person went into the store, then left the store and went to a van that was waiting,” Wilson wrote. “Mr. Jarvis was subsequently arrested because the vehicle had a licence plate consistent with a vehicle that he owned.”

In the aftermath, Jarvis pleaded guilty, an act that saved the court time and money — something the judge explained was particularly relevant during a pandemic.

Also, Jarvis has shown remorse for what he did, but more importantly, he’s made gains in his personal life since the robbery.

“The circumstances of Mr. Jarvis are unfortunate and not inconsistent with the sorts of cases that we routinely see in this Court,” Justice Wilson wrote.

“His background includes addictions and mental health issues. His criminal record is lengthy, but it is consistent with the criminal record of a person who is addicted to drugs, that is a prevalence of property related offences. There are a couple of crimes of violence, but for the most part, his criminal record is related to property offences.”

Jarvis’s heroin addiction followed a Percocet prescription and since he went into custody in 2018, he’s taken advantage of the methadone program. 

“The positive steps that he has taken since incarceration are, frankly, very impressive in this case,” he said. “He has participated in a substantial number of programs through the institutions.”

Among the programs was a four-month program that involved twice-a-day attendance. He has also managed to complete his Grade 12 while in the institution and tutored others as they attempt to do the same thing.

“Whenever someone seeks some leniency and the underlying offences were fuelled by a drug addiction, consideration needs to be given to whether this person has truly moved on from that lifestyle and has made genuine efforts to deal with the underlying addiction issue,” he wrote.

“From what I have read and from what I have heard, this appears to be the case with Mr. Jarvis. Obviously, there are never any guarantees in life, but it appears that Mr. Jarvis has done everything he could possibly do to try to ensure that he rids himself of his addiction so that he can move forward with his life.”

The steps Jarvis has taken are “most impressive” the judge said, noting he has an offer of employment and family support.

That was what is “required to give Jarvis the support he will need in order to move forward with his life in a prosocial way and become a productive member of society.”

In addition to the nine month sentence, he will also be on probation for a period of 12 months.

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