A 27-year-old prolific offender has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a New Year’s Day robbery in Williams Lake which saw a father stabbed while at a local convenience store to pick up a jug of milk.
On the day his trial was slated to begin in Williams Lake Supreme Court, Wednesday, Sept. 26, Blake Bob Johnny pleaded guilty to one count of attempted robbery and one count of aggravated assault.
The crime occurred Jan. 1, 2018 at about 8:23 p.m. in the Glendale area.
The victim was approached by two suspects who demanded the man hand over the keys to his vehicle. A scuffled ensued and the victim ran back into the store where he was followed inside, stabbed and the keys taken before the suspects fled on foot.
Read more: New Year’s Day robbery and stabbing suspect to stand trial this week
Supreme Court Justice Len Marchand accepted the pleas and agreed to defence counsel Bill Herdy’s request that a Gladue report be prepared before Johnny is sentenced.
A Gladue report is a pre-sentencing and bail hearing report that a Canadian court can request when considering sentencing an offender of Aboriginal background.
“I’m glad to hear that a Gladue report will be prepared,” Marchand said.
A Gladue report was also prepared for Johnny in 2015 before he was convicted of break and enter and theft for charges stemming from a crime spree in Williams Lake in 2012.
In July 2017, he was arrested and charged one count of possession of a weapon and one count of possession of a prohibited weapon.
Read more: RCMP arrest and charge three prolific offenders during Stampede weekend on weapon possession
Johnny will remain in custody.
He was being transferred from Williams Lake to the Prince George Correctional Centre later Wednesday.
Herdy and Julie Dufour, Crown Counsel, will attend court on Oct. 22 to fix a date for Johnny’s sentencing.
news@wltribune.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter