A man who was initially charged with 16 robberies throughout the Lower Mainland – including in Abbotsford, Langley, Chilliwack, Surrey and Maple Ridge – has been sentenced to nine years in prison, most of which he has already served.
Clint Aaron Jeremy Billy, 37, was recently sentenced in provincial court after pleading guilty to nine counts of robbery, three counts of using an imitation firearm, one count of possessing a fake handgun, and one count of breaching his bail.
Billy was given almost seven years’ credit for the time he has been in custody, leaving him with another two years left to serve.
Billy and another man, Justin Walsh, were first arrested in Abbotsford in January 2020 after robbing a Subway restaurant on McCallum Road. They were under surveillance at the time.
After their arrest, police reported that the pair had been linked to a total of 16 robberies throughout the Lower Mainland: six in Abbotsford; three in Langley; two each in Maple Ridge, Surrey and Chilliwack; and one in Vancouver.
Investigators said their spree began on Dec. 9, 2019 in Vancouver and occurred at an average rate of four robberies per week.
The offences involved two masked men with guns, one which appeared to be a long gun and the other a handgun. The robberies occurred at liquor stores, gas stations, convenience stores and banks.
By September 2020, Billy and Walsh faced 35 charges between them.
Walsh was sentenced in January 2022 to time served and three years of probation after pleading guilty to six counts of robbery and one count of using an imitation firearm.
In addition to the robberies in 2019 and 2020, Billy's recent sentencing also included a January 2021 robbery in Burnaby and one in North Vancouver.
In sentencing Billy, Judge Joanne Challenger said he has a long criminal history that includes convictions for 11 prior robberies, two of which included him using an imitation weapon.
She said several victims of the more-recent robberies indicated they suffered “various degrees of fear and anxiety.” One was off work for five months and required extensive counselling, Challenger said.
She said Billy has failed to comply with a conditional sentence, parole or probation, and remains “enmeshed in a criminal lifestyle.”
But Challenger said mitigating factors include that Billy pleaded guilty and has expressed remorse.
The judge said she also had to factor in Billy’s Indigenous background – he’s a member of the Squamish Nation, and some of his relatives attended residential schools – as part of the Gladue principles of sentencing under the Criminal Code.
The Supreme Court ruled in 1999 that courts must consider an Indigenous offender’s background when being sentenced for a crime.
Challenger said although Billy lives with “historical trauma,” he does not have a mental disability nor was he under the influence of substances or “driven by addiction” when he committed his crimes.
“Mr. Billy’s offences were predatory, planned and deliberate. He was motivated by greed. He wanted easy money and was prepared to obtain it through violence,” the judge said.
“… His degree of moral responsibility is high. His moral culpability is reduced to a limited degree by his background as an Indigenous person.”
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