Man accused in attempted robbery sentenced on unrelated charges

18-YEAR-OLD SENTENCED TO 60 DAYS IN JAIL FOR POSSESSION OF STOLEN PROPERTY

An 18-year-old Lethbridge man accused of planning to rob a convenience store last month has been sent to jail on unrelated charges out of Calgary.

Alexander Roxby Styra pleaded guilty Tuesday in Lethbridge provincial court to single charges of dangerous driving and possession of stolen property over $5,000 and was sentenced to 60 days behind bars.

Styra, 18, was driving a 2013 GMC truck west along Memorial Drive in Calgary when he drove off the road and over the right-hand curb before entering Westmount Boulevard and travelling against traffic. He drove into a parked truck shortly afterward, causing his vehicle to flip onto its roof.

Styra crawled out the passenger door and remained nearby until emergency medical personnel arrived, followed by the police, who arrested him.

Court was told Styra was high on methamphetamine at the time and hadn’t slept for five days when he “intentionally” collided with the parked truck.

“Alexander has an unfortunate history of drug use,” Lethbridge lawyer Claudia Connolly said.

Styra, who attended court by closed-circuit TV from the Lethbridge Correctional Centre, explained “I’d been trying to kill myself.”

Police determined through their investigation that the vehicle Styra was driving had been stolen, and although he didn’t steal it, he suspected it may have been stolen when another “young person” let him drive it.

Judge Jerry LeGrandeur credited Styra for the equivalent of 32 days he had already spent in custody, leaving him with 28 days on his sentence. LeGrandeur also prohibited him from driving for one year.

Styra also faces charges out of Lethbridge after police prevented a robbery in August.

Lethbridge police arrested two masked men armed with weapons as they exited a vehicle Aug. 22 and attempted to enter a northside convenience store.

Police reported that at about 3:05 a.m. officers located a stolen Dodge Cirrus in the parking lot of 7-Eleven and Ace Liquor in the 2600 block of Scenic Drive North. The vehicle had previously been involved in a hitand-run collision.

As police approached the driver and passenger, they exited the vehicle. The driver was armed with a collapsible baton and the passenger with a knife.

Police intervened and the men were arrested without incident.

Levi Cyprian Harris, 21, of Lethbridge, was charged with conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, possession of a dangerous weapon, disguised with intent to commit an indictable offence, failing to remain at the scene of an accident, dangerous driving, and two counts of breach of a recognizance. Styra was charged with conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, possession of a dangerous weapon, and disguised with intent to commit an indictable offence.

Harris returns to court Tuesday, while Styra is scheduled to return Monday, ostensibly to resolve the rest of his charges.