Man pleads guilty to attempted robbery

An 18-year-old Lethbridge man accused of planning to rob a convenience store earlier this fall has pleaded guilty to attempted robbery.

Alexander Roxby Styra pleaded guilty Monday in Lethbridge provincial court and was sentenced to 18 months in jail.

Styra’s lawyer and the Crown, in a joint submission, had asked the court for a more lenient sentence given Styra’s youthful age and lack of a previous criminal record prior to committing the offence on Aug. 22. Substance abuse may also have been a factor in Styra’s actions the court heard.

Styra was co-accused with Levi Cyprian Harris, 21, also of Lethbridge. The facts of the case, admitted by Styra on Monday, said LPS officers located a stolen Dodge Cirrus on Aug. 22 at approximately 3 a.m. parked in the parking lot of 7-Eleven and Ace Liquor along the 2600 block of Scenic Drive North. The vehicle had previously been involved in a hit-and-run collision.

As police were approaching, the driver and passenger — both masked — exited the vehicle. The driver, Harris, was allegedly armed with a collapsible baton and the passenger, confirmed as Styra, with a folding knife. The driver was wearing a ski mask the court heard, and Styra admitted to wearing a black T-shirt around his face to obscure his identity.

Upon seeing this, the police officers immediately intervened and the subjects were arrested without incident. Following further investigation the two men were subsequently charged.

Harris is still facing charges of 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. - With files from Delon Shurtz Follow @TimKalHerald on Twitter