BY KEITH LACEY
He is only 21 but repeat armed robber Jason Tolkacz has ?reached the crossroads? in his young life.
Tolkacz will find out Thursday what his punishment will be for being involved in a botched armed robbery that turned violent Aug. 13, 2003.
Assistant Crown attorney Philip Zylberberg asked the court Tuesday to impose a penitentiary term of four years in addition to nine months Tolkacz
has already spent in pre-trial custody.
Defence lawyers Alex Toffoli and Nathalie Boivin have asked the courts to sentence Tolkacz to an additional 12 months in jail.
Justice Robert Del Frate of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice said he needed time to consider his decision and will impose sentence Thursday
morning.
Tolkacz, who came from a broken home and has led a criminal lifestyle since being a young teenager, told the court he?s become a changed man since being involved in the armed robbery of a West End convenience store.
Tolkacz and two accomplices stole a minivan before going to the store. Inside the store one of them pepper-sprayed the female owner before her son came on the scene. One of the three men used a knife to stab the woman?s son. This resulted in superficial wounds to his neck and shoulder area.
In November, Marcel Williams, 19, received a 15-month sentence for his role in the robbery. The identity of the third man involved remains unknown.
Tolkacz, who court heard has a related record for numerous robberies as a youth, calmly told Del Frate he?s made a conscious decision to change
his after he finishes this sentence.
?I?ve made some extremely bad decisions growing up...I?ve never had any kind of a role model...and I started using drugs and alcohol at a very young age,? he said.
?During the past 14 months, I?ve done a lot of thinking...I would like one day to have kids and be able to tell them about my achievements in life.?
Tolkacz said he realizes he has an alcohol problem and he needs help to battle it.
He?s done well behind bars upgrading his education and would like to finish high school and then one day go on to college ?and become a productive member of society,? he said.
He met several men in jail who will likely spend most of the rest of their life behind bars.
?This has been a real wakeup call for me...and I want to do something with my life,? he said.
Zylberberg said while Tolkacz may have good intentions, his history of violent robberies is scary and the time has come for society to be protected from this individual.
Asking for such a harsh sentence against a 21-year-old ?brings me almost to tears,? but the accused?s history calls out for a penitentiary sentence, he said.
Toffoli told the court Tolkacz has basically lived on the streets since age 11 after leaving a dysfunctional home. He ended up joining street gangs and abusing alcohol and drugs as a young teenager.
Tolkacz faces another court hearing in January relating to another robbery.
