R. v. Cornish

R. v. Cornish

Judge concluded that after applying provincial sentencing standards, mandatory minimums, and the totality principle to nine robberies and four s.85(2) counts committed in a short spree by a first offender, an appropriate global sentence is seven years, reduced by 36 months pretrial custody credit to a net four years to serve; ancillary orders for DNA, lifetime firearms prohibition, and forfeiture of seized cash and imitation firearm were warranted.

Citation
2017 BCSC 665
Parties
Crown: Regina; Accused: Shaun Christopher Cornish
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
28 February 2017
Procedural Posture
Criminal Robbery / Sentencing (oral Reasons)
Outcome
Guilty plea accepted; aggregate sentence of seven years imprisonment with 36 months credit; net four years to serve
Legal Topics
Robbery, Use of Imitation Firearm, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, Totality Principle, Pretrial Custody Credit, DNA Order, Firearms Prohibition, Forfeiture
Source Language
English
Criminal Law Sentencing Robbery Use of Imitation Firearm Mandatory Minimum Sentence Totality Principle Pretrial Custody Credit DNA Order +2 more

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Parties

Regina

Crown

Shaun Christopher Cornish

Accused

Procedural Posture

Criminal Robbery / Sentencing (oral Reasons)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Appropriate aggregate sentence for multiple bank robberies across jurisdictions
  2. 2 Application of one‑year mandatory minimums for use of an imitation firearm
  3. 3 Whether sentences should be consecutive or concurrent and application of totality principle

Ratio Decidendi

Judge concluded that after applying provincial sentencing standards, mandatory minimums, and the totality principle to nine robberies and four s.85(2) counts committed in a short spree by a first offender, an appropriate global sentence is seven years, reduced by 36 months pretrial custody credit to a net four years to serve; ancillary orders for DNA, lifetime firearms prohibition, and forfeiture of seized cash and imitation firearm were warranted.

Court Disposition

Guilty plea accepted; aggregate sentence of seven years imprisonment with 36 months credit; net four years to serve

Orders

  • Imprisonment seven years with 36 months pretrial custody credit resulting in net four years to be served in penitentiary
  • Provide DNA sample on demand to be placed in DNA databank