Man armed with syringe convicted of 7-Eleven robbery

A man who robbed a convenience store armed with a syringe and then threatened a customer with a box cutter apologized to his victims in court Monday.

“At the time I was on drugs and was not in my right state of mind. I feel bad I affected these people long term,” Graham O’Connor told Judge Meredith Donohue in Superior Court of Justice in St. Catharines.

The judge gave the 38-year-old St. Catharines man, who pleaded guilty at an earlier court date to charges of robbery and assault with a weapon, credit for time he had spent in pretrial custody — the equivalent of 875 days — and imposed an additional 45 days in jail.

On Nov. 13, 2017, shortly before midnight, O’Connor entered a 7-Eleven on Lake Street in St. Catharines and asked a clerk for a carton of cigarettes.

He grabbed at the cigarettes, court heard, but the clerk held tight. The duo struggled, and one package fell from the carton.

He told the employee, and another clerk standing nearby, he had “dirty blood,” and pulled a syringe from his pocket. The needle was capped but the clerks saw what they thought was blood at or near the cap.

He told the employees, “Give me cigarettes or I’ll stick you.”

The clerks backed away and the defendant fled the store with a single package of cigarettes.

A customer chased O’Connor down the street.

The defendant stopped and turned, saying, “I’ve got a box cutter and I’ll slice you, man. Stop following me.”

The customer ended the pursuit.

O’Connor turned himself in to police less than eight hours after the crime.

While the victims did not sustain any physical injuries, court was told, there are emotional scars.

One clerk said he now struggles with anxiety when he sees a customer reach into their pocket for their wallet.

“Both (victims) speak about their increased vigilance now while dealing with customers,” said assistant Crown attorney Graeme Leach.