Sentencing delayed in robbery case
A Magrath man who has pleaded guilty to three counts of party to the offence of robbery may be having second thoughts, but he only has three weeks to make up his mind or the judge may do it for him.
Joshua Lloyd Alston was scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday in Lethbridge provincial court, but instead his lawyer, James Rouleau, asked to withdraw and adjourn the matter so Alston can apply to Legal Aid for new counsel.
Rouleau said he is having difficulty receiving instructions from his client so they can take the next step, even though Alston pleaded guilty in June to three counts of party to the offence of robbery. He said he doubts anything would change even if the matter was adjourned for a few weeks.
“I don’t believe I’ll get instructions,” he told Judge Jerry LeGrandeur.
Although Alston previously pleaded guilty to the charges, LeGrandeur only accepted one of the pleas. Alston was expected to decide how he wanted to proceed Wednesday but hadn’t given his lawyer clear instructions.
LeGrandeur isn’t prepared to wait much longer, and told Alston if he doesn’t make up his mind how he wants to proceed on the remaining two charges at the next court hearing Sept. 26, he’ll plead not guilty for him and prepare for a trial.
“It’s not going to sit and go around in circles,” LeGrandeur said. “There will be a plea one way or the other.”
Rouleau was also ordered to stay on the record for the time being.
On June 21 Alston admitted he was the driver when he and another Magrath man, Derek Ross Blackmer, robbed a gas station Aug. 15 of last year. The Crown pointed out Alston didn’t know Blackmer was planning to rob the business, but he still drove away afterward so his friend wouldn’t get caught.
Alston was the driver on two other occasions later the same month when Blackmer robbed another gas station and a Mac’s Store. Alston knew what Blackmer was planning to do both times, making him a party to the offences.
Blackmer pleaded guilty in February to 10 counts of robbery and was sentenced to seven years in a federal penitentiary.
Between April 18 and Aug. 29, 2017, Blackmer robbed three 7-Eleven stores, three Mac’s stores, a liquor store and three gas stations from which he received a total of $800. He often asked a clerk for a plastic bag then demanded the cash be put inside it, and during some robberies he showed a weapon. He walked away from two stores empty handed when the clerks refused his demands, and a couple of times he stole a carton of cigarettes.
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