BY KEITH LACEY
A teenager who got into all kinds of trouble over a two-month period this past summerÂ?including being involved in an attempted armed robbery of a local convenience storeÂ?has been sentenced to 15 months in jail.
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Marcel Williams, 18, pleaded guilty last week to being one of three men involved in the attempted robbery of a West End convenience store in which the store owner was threatened with a knife the evening of Aug. 13.
Williams also pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen van on June 17. He was arrested on Aug. 23 for breaching a court order to maintain a curfew and a further police investigation revealed he was involved in the convenience store robbery 10 days earlier.
Assistant Crown attorney Kenrick Abbott told the court three young men entered the convenience store just before closing time and one of the men had pepper spray and a second man was armed with a knife.
The intent of all three men was to rob the store, but things went awry when the store owner ran downstairs and
confronted the three men, said Abbott.
A minor struggle occurred between the store owner ensued, but all three men, who wore masks, left the scene
without having obtained any money or merchandise, he said.
Ten days later, Williams was observed by Greater Sudbury police walking with a second male and it appeared
Williams was intoxicated.
Williams had slurred speech, couldnÂ?t spell his last name and proceeded to give police a false name, which led to him being charged with obstruction of justice, said Abbott.
In relation to the stolen van incident, police pulled over the vehicle, driven by Williams, and Williams again gave an incorrect name, which led to his first obstructing police charge.
Defence counsel Herve Sauve said Williams moved to the Sudbury area from an isolated James B ay reserve two years ago and Â?he has quite a big problem with alcoholÂ?, which has led to him getting into serious trouble with the
law.
The good news is Williams realizes he must try and overcome his alcohol problem and wants to seek counselling, said Sauve.
A treatment program at a detention centre in Ottawa has an opening for him and Williams would like to serve his sentence there to try and get help, said Sauve.
While Williams was a minor player in the convenience store incident, anyone involved in an attempted armed robbery must pay a serious price and Williams realizes this, said Sauve.
Williams is deeply sorry for his involvement in these crimes and went as far as writing a letter of apology to the store owner, said Sauve.
Considering his client has never served time, is very young, has never served an adult sentence and his plea of guilt saved a long and difficult trial, a combined sentence of 15 months would be appropriate, said Sauve.
Justice Guy Mahaffy agreed.
Williams Â?was not the prime moverÂ? in the attempted robbery and the courts must consider he is a native teenager who has a problem with alcohol, said Mahaffy.
On top of the jail sentence, Williams was ordered to provide a DNA sample for a national crime data bank and was
prohibited from owning or possessing any firearm or prohibited weapon for the rest of his life.
