(ASHLEY LEGASSIC / iNFOnews.ca)

A Kamloops man has been sentenced to time behind bars for a crime he committed the day before his 19th birthday.

Jonathan Wayne Lundstrom, born May 15, 2001, faced one count of robbery after an incident that took place on May 14 of this year.

The court was shown surveillance video from the Esso gas station on West Columbia street where the incident took place.

Lundstrom entered the store in a hooded sweatshirt and said he was carrying a knife. The sole store clerk quickly locked the plexiglass door for the till area to stay safe, but the court heard Lundstrom did not ask for any money. When a vehicle is seen pulling up near the window of the gas station, Lundstrom panicked and grabbed some candy before fleeing the store. 

“Mr. Lundstrom has a lengthy youth record, this offence occurred on the eve of his 19th birthday, he has a previous conviction of theft of a motor vehicle, he has a number of convictions for breaches for failure to comply with sentence provisions,” Supreme Court Justice Dev Dley said. “The Crown imposes a jail sentence range of six to nine months, the defence says that the appropriate sentence should be time served.”

The defense argued that this was not a thought-out plan, and noted Lundstrom’s brain injury and homeless status as reasons why he committed the crime.

Rather than pleading guilty to robbery, Lundstrom pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon.

“This was, as described by the defense, an unsophisticated crime but nonetheless a crime that had the potential to be violent and it’s apparent, based on the evidence, that the arrival of the vehicle interrupted the plan,” Dley says.

Dley sentenced Lundstrom to six months of prison time and two years of probation. Lundstrom has been in custody since his arrest on May 14 and his a credit of 116 days of time served will be deducted from his sentence.

Moving forward, Lundstrom must comply with probation orders such as staying away from drugs or alcohol, avoiding the Esso in which the incident occurred, keeping good behaviour and going to counselling as required by his probation officer.

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