BY KEITH LACEY
A man charged with his 12th robbery is expected to plead guilty Thursday and agree to a Crown request he be named a long-term offender.
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Carl Casseus, 35, was charged with armed robbery in relation to an incident at a Minnow Lake convenience store last September.
Last Wednesday, defence counsel Alex Toffoli and assistant Crown attorney Andrew Slater told the court Casseus intends to plead guilty to the armed robbery when he returns to court Thursday.
Court also heard Slater will in the interim seek approval from the provinceÂ?s Attorney General to have Casseus deemed a long-term offender.
The Crown was originally seeking to have Casseus labelled a dangerous offender.
Casseus has been convicted of 11 counts of robbery or armed robbery and has spent much of the past decade behind bars.
If deemed a dangerous offender, the state would have been able to keep Casseus behind bars indefinitely.
Under a long-term offender designation, police are given additional powers to continually monitor a person for 10 years after his release from prison.
ItÂ?s expected the Crown will ask for a penitentiary term in the range of six to eight years for Casseus at next ThursdayÂ?s sentencing hearing.
Casseus faces 18 charges, including armed robbery, several for pointing a firearm, weapons possession charges and wearing a disguise.
Last September, CasseusÂ? co-accused Richard Petroff, 20, was given a four-year penitentiary term for his role in the convenience store armed robbery.
Petroff and another man disguised themselves and entered a Howey Drive convenience store the evening of Sept. 8 just before 10 pm.
Petroff pulled out what appeared to be a handgun and ordered the storeÂ?s clerk to open the cash register.
Between $60 and $80 was taken from the cash register and handed over to Petroff, who placed the money in a bag he had brought with him into the store.
The storeÂ?s owner saw the robbery going on through a videotape monitor and entered the store from a separate entrance.
ItÂ?s alleged Casseus was the man holding the gun, which court heard at PetroffÂ?s sentencing hearing was a pellet gun made to look like a handgun, pointed the weapon directly at the ownerÂ?s head and uttered profanities, before he and Petroff prepared to leave the scene.
On the way out of the store, Petroff grabbed a container holding a large amount of candy.
A third male was near the entrance to the store and he also faces serious charges in relation to this incident.
The minimum jail sentence for anyone involved in a crime where a handgun, real or fake, is used is four years in a federal penitentiary.
