Export ‘A’ bandit sentenced to 10 years in prison

Man carried out seven robberies wearing mask and brandishing a kitchen knife

A man who committed a series of masked, armed robberies at south Edmonton convenience stores in 2017 was handed a sentence of 10 years and four months in prison Friday.

Between January and May 2017, Justin James Taylor carried out seven robberies, during which he was masked and brandished a kitchen knife while demanding cash and cigarettes.

According to an agreed statement of facts following the numerous guilty pleas, Taylor, 28, returned to the same stores more than once, and robbed some of the same clerks more than once.

As police investigated, a common description of the suspect and the way he committed the robberies emerged, including that his face was covered by a bandana, that he always used the same type of knife, and the cigarettes he demanded were always Export “A” brand.

None of the clerks he encountered was hurt.

He hit the first store on Jan. 25, 2017. After the last robbery on May 14, 2017, at a Mac’s Store on Mill Woods Road, he fled in a Mini Cooper, but was pursued and arrested by police.

Provincial court Judge Carrie Sharpe accepted a joint submission on sentencing by Crown prosecutor Domina Hussain and defence lawyer Dino Bottos, giving Taylor credit for time served in pre-trial custody, so that he has nine years remaining in his sentence.

Bottos told court his client grew up in Beaumont and is a welder who has long suffered from alcohol and drug addictions.

He was able to support his habit until he was laid off in 2016. He turned to crime to pay for his addiction, fully aware he might get caught, Bottos said.

When given the opportunity to address the court, Taylor said he is hoping to move forward and will continue to work on his addiction issues while incarcerated.

“I would like to apologize for my actions,” he said.

Taylor’s parents were in court Friday to support him.