Man gets six years for armed robbery

An Edmonton man was handed a six-year prison sentence Friday for his part in an armed home invasion where an unsuspecting couple was left traumatized and injured.

Steven Christopher Paul, 28, earlier pleaded guilty to robbery with a firearm, break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence, criminal negligence causing bodily harm, using a firearm while committing an offence, possession of a prohibited weapon while banned from doing so and being disguised.

Judge John Henderson called the home invasion an “extremely grave” offence and noted that such crimes typically attract prison terms in the eight-year range.

However, Henderson reduced the sentence as a result of Paul growing up in a “horrific” environment of substance abuse, violence, sexual abuse, poverty and incarceration. He became immersed in a criminal lifestyle by age 12.

According to an agreed statement of facts, Paul was one of three masked and armed men who barged into a home near 113A Street and 136 Avenue around 9:40 p.m. on June 2, 2014.

Milorad and Suvada Civjetic lived at the home with their adult son, Bojan, who was away.

The couple was watching TV when they heard someone banging on the back door. Suvada opened the door and saw two men in masks.

She ran out the front door, fracturing her foot in her attempt to escape. Once she reached the front of the house, she screamed for help.

Milorad Civjetic heard the commotion and went to the rear door, where he saw three masked men entering the home. Two stayed on the main floor while Paul ran to Bojan’s basement bedroom.

One of the men shot Milorad Civjetic in the arm. The bullet went through his bicep and into the side of his chest, where it pierced his lung and came to rest between his heart and his spine.

The two armed men fled in a white car while Paul took off on foot.

Paul was later arrested after police found a discarded T-shirt that was used as a mask and two torn bits of gloves that were linked to Paul through DNA. He was also identified by witnesses.

The other two suspects remain unidentified.