Guilty of robbery

Judge doesn’t believe Mathieu Terrence Myers claims

A man who claimed he took his victim’s keys, wallet and phone as collateral during a drug deal was found guilty Monday of robbery. Mathieu Terrence Myers, 30, appeared before Judge John Douglas in provincial court in Charlottetown for trial after he pleaded not guilty to two charges.

After the conviction, the Crown stayed a charge of carrying a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

During the trial, the victim said he left work at around 1 a.m. on Sept. 1 to go to a friend’s apartment on Prince Street in Charlottetown. The victim said he passed Myers who was sitting outside on the building’s steps. Once inside, Myers came up from behind, slammed him against the wall and pulled a knife on him, the victim said.

He also testified Myers asked for his keys, wallet and phone before putting them in a bag and punching him in the face. The woman the victim was visiting also testified and confirmed seeing red marks on him.

She also said the victim’s glasses were broken in the building’s entryway. Crown attorney Gerald Quinn said the police seized several items, including the victim’s health card and driver’s licence, when they searched the home Myers was hiding out in. They also found a knife and driver’s licences belonging to two other people among other items. Myers took the stand in his own defence and gave a different version of events, in which he claimed to be the victim of a drug deal gone wrong. During his testimony, Myers said he was feeling sick from coming off drugs and was looking to buy more when he saw the victim who he recognized, although the two didn’t know each other.

Myers testified he gave the victim $200 to buy opiates for him. The victim handed over his keys, wallet and cellphone as collateral, Myers said.

Myers said he left after a while when the victim didn’t come back.

“I went looking for drugs,” Myers said. He denied robbing the victim. Douglas said that version of events didn’t make sense and considering all the evidence he was satisfied Myers was guilty. Myers will be back in court Oct. 6 for sentencing.