(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
May 26, 2023 - 7:00 PM
A Kamloops man will spend nearly two more years in custody after he pleaded guilty in Kamloops Provincial Court to two four crimes over a two-month period.
Noel Larkin, 26, appeared from custody on May 26, where he's been since he was arrested for a robbery in November as well as for assaulting two people and causing more than $20,000 in damage at a local shelter in the weeks prior.
He flashed what appeared to be a handgun when he robbed a downtown store on Nov. 20, the court heard.
Larkin stole a small amount of food, including beef jerky, a chocolate bar and a bottle of juice. A store employee told him he had to pay for it, but he didn't have enough money after putting $3 on the counter.
The employee told him he couldn't leave with the food, so he showed off a handgun and left. Police found him ten minutes later, but the gun was found to be a BB gun, the court heard.
Larkin's robbery was the last of four incidents he was facing charges for.
The first incident was on Sept. 28, when he assaulted a man at the North Kamloops transition facility, Moira House. The court heard Larkin knocked on a tenant's door and when the man answered, Larkin shoved him to the ground.
The victim ended up with six broken ribs as a result, Crown prosecutor Alex Janse said.
Less than a week later, Larkin assaulted another man, this time near the Mustard Seed on West Victoria Street.
On Oct. 4, Larkin called the man by an incorrect name and asked him if he was a "skinner." When the victim asked for clarification, Larkin said it means pedophile.
"(The victim) denied being a skinner and Larkin believed otherwise, then punched him in the face," Janse said.
The man then hit his head on a street sign and looked up to see Larkin "bouncing around like a boxer," Janse said. The victim called police from the Mustard Seed, blood covering his face, and described Larkin, who was later picked up by RCMP.
He is no longer welcome at the Mustard Seed, according to Janse.
He later flooded the Emerald Centre shelter on Oct. 20 and he's no longer welcome at Canadian Mental Health Association services either.
The court heard he used a ladder from a bunk bed to break a sprinkler inside the building, then used a chair to break more, around 5:25 a.m. on Oct. 20.
He caused $20,700 in damage, but Janse noted he wasn't acting erratically and appeared to be "normal" before he broke the sprinklers.
Larkin's lawyer, Marcel Laflamme, said Larkin has fetal alcohol syndrome and has struggled with substance use for most of his life.
He's a Cree and Inuit man from Edmonton, but spent most of his childhood in and out of foster care, with his last home in Kamloops.
Laflamme said his biological parents gave him a difficult upbringing.
"His father is a dangerous offender. This is not a proper father," Laflamme said, explaining he was concerned Larkin would end up a dangerous offender himself if kept in federal custody.
Laflamme sought 15 months in custody for all four offences and a probation order that includes treatment.
The Crown, however, sought a longer sentence of nearly two-and-a-half years. Janse suggested two years of probation with requirements only to stay clear of his victims and the three shelters, since the Crown had little expectation he would abide by stiffer probation conditions.
Judge Mariane Armstrong agreed to impose the two-year probation that would include a treatment requirement, but sided with the Crown for a longer jail sentence.
Larkin was given credit for time already served, ending up with around 19 months remaining on his prison sentence.
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