Robber turns life around
Serial armed robber is ‘a young man who made some bad choices,’ judge rules
Justice Donald Burrage didn’t sugar-coat the facts when sentencing a serial armed robber last month.
“The robberies were not sophisticated, nor were they well planned,” the Newfound- land and Labrador Supreme Court justice wrote in his decision, saying David Evans’ crimes were those of opportunity, fueled by his addiction to prescription drugs, and had a negative impact on the store clerks involved.
However, the judge acknowledged Evans has “completely turned his life around” since he committed the string of five armed robberies, becoming a hard-working and productive member of society with a young family, and took this into consideration when giving him a total jail term of three years.
Evans pleaded guilty to armed robberies at Needs Convenience on Park Avenue in Mount Pearl, K&D Grocery in Paradise, Barbour’s Convenience in Mount Pearl and Needs Convenience on Barbour Drive in Mount Pearl — twice – between May 5 and 15, 2014.
His method was to walk into the store unmasked, walk around, then approach the counter with a scarf or hood covering part of his face. In most cases he showed the clerk a knife and asked for money and sometimes cigarettes.
The robberies were all captured on surveillance, and in some of the cases, police dogs obtained a track from the scene to a clothing item — later found to contain Evans’ DNA — discarded nearby. After the fourth robbery, a retired police officer living in Mount Pearl contacted the RNC to tell them he had noticed a blue Pontiac G5 parked outside his house on the days when robberies were reported
The next evening, he contacted police again to say the Pontiac was back, and he had seen a man get out of it and walk down a nearby wooded trail.
Police officers responded and hid near the vehicle, which they learned had been sold to Evans. Another officer from the K9 unit hid at the back of the nearby Needs store.
About an hour later, Evans entered the store and once again demanded money before running away, followed by the K9 officer and dog. The dog tracked a scent down a trail and located the hoodie Evans had been wearing before ending up back near the Pontiac, where Evans had already been arrested.
Evans admitted to two of the robberies the next day, and gave incriminating evidence about the hoodie worn during a third.
He acknowledged some significant mitigating factors, though, including Evans’ recovery from drug addiction and the way he had pulled his life together after being charged.
Burrage considered a glowing letter from Evans’ employer and positive statements from friends and family members, as well as a pre-sentence report from a probation officer that stated Evans had insight into his crimes, had no prior criminal record and was willing to address his issues.
“Overall the pre-sentence report presents Mr. Evans in a very favourable light, as a young man, who, at the age of 19, made some bad choices in order to finance his drug addiction,” Burrage wrote. “He is now 23 years old and by all accounts has taken measures to turn his life around. He has stable employment and a young family who are dependent on him for support. He has lived under strict conditions this past four years and has had no further involvement with the law.”
When asked if he had anything to say, Evans expressed remorse and apologized to his victims.