Court First-time offender used utility knife to hit convenience store

B5

MIKE MULLEN
TELEGRAPH-J0URNAL

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SAINT JOHN - Provincial court Judge Andrew LeMesurier had no victim impact statement to consider Friday in handing down a three-year federal penitentiary term to a city man who robbed a south end convenience store with a utility knife last Nov. 25.

But it was clear to everyone present that the grave impact of his actions wasn't lost on a sober Jesse Robert Shannon, 28, who rose in the prisoner's box before sentencing to offer an apology for turning to robbery to support his addiction to the drug Dilaudid.

"I would like to apologize to the court. I want to apologize to the woman (the store clerk)," Shannon said. "She's about the same age as my mother (who was in the courtroom). I'll never forget her face."

The first-time offender, who has dabbled in drugs since age 12, also accepted responsibility for his actions and the consequences he knew were coming.

"I played with fire too long, and I got burned," he said.

Shannon was picked up at the Ridgewood detox centre by Saint John Police Force on Dec. 3 after at least one person called the force's tip line identifying Shannon as the hooded man with a goatee pictured in a surveillance photo taken at the time of the robbery at Little Jack's Convenience Store.

The photo had been made available by the police for publication by the Telegraph-Journal on Nov. 26.

When confronted, Shannon immediately confessed to the crime, and at the first opportunity, pleaded guilty to stealing approximately $300 in cash and cigarettes valued at $30 from Little Jack's while carrying a yellow and black utility knife.

Crown prosecutor Chris Titus told the court the female clerk at Little Jack's, who ultimately decided not to file a victim impact statement, said the knife-wielding robber entered the store around 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 25.

When she tried to ignore his demands that she open the cash register, he told her, "I'm telling you, ma'am, to open it now." A bit shaken, and trembling, she decided it wasn't worth stalling any longer.

When she opened the till, he grabbed the bills only and then, before leaving, took four or five packs of cigarettes.

He then asked where the telephone was, cutting the wire.

Shannon offered his first apology to his female victim on Dec. 3.

"I have never been in trouble with the law, but I am addicted to Dilaudid," it stated. "I hope my going to jail will give you some comfort. Don't judge all young men by my actions."

First offence or not, Titus said, this kind of violent crime can net up to life in prison. And under current sentencing guidelines, he said, a federal penitentiary term was to be expected.

In sentencing Shannon, LeMesurier called it a "sad case" and said he hoped Shannon would take advantage of the resources available in the federal system to overcome the drugs that appear to be at the root of his problems.

"Hopefully, this is your first and last appearance in court," he said.

LeMesurier also ordered Shannon to provide a DNA sample and prohibited him from owning weapons for the next 10 years.