A robber who robbed 19 banks and businesses in Greater Montreal has escaped with 17 years in prison, far from the minimum sentence of 26 years and less than 26 years of demanding the crown.
Judge Anne-Marie Langdott sentenced Montreal Magistrate Jeffrey Marshall Maynard to life in prison on Monday.
Maynard, 40, sowed fear among victims in the fall of 2017. He specifically targeted banking institutions, but also grocery stores and restaurant-bars.
Dressed or disguised, he entered the target business with a fake weapon, threatened the occupants and emptied the boxes. Within two minutes, he came out filling his pockets.
“Hearing witnesses, for the most part, had a gun in their direction,” the judge recalled during the verdict.
In all, he killed about thirty people in Montreal, Laval, Longville, Kentiac and Perthville, within two months. An extensive investigation was conducted and Maynard was arrested while he was preparing for another robbery.
Exaggerated sentence
Maynard, who was convicted of 19 counts of robbery, using a fake weapon during a robbery but illegally possessing a firearm, is awaiting a court pardon.
Because of the criminal code article related to the accumulation of punishment, he should have been sentenced to at least 19 years in prison, or one year for each time he used a fake weapon.
However, Crown’s lawyer, Alexis Dinell, demanded that he be sentenced to 26 years in prison, given the seriousness of the crime.
“The increase in sentences does not prevent rehabilitation,” the magistrate recalled, emphasizing that in Canada, people are protected by the Constitution against cruel and unusual punishment.
However, in this case, the judge said, the sentence would be too high, even if imposed at a minimum. Maynard in particular would have used a fake gun.
“It simply came to our notice then [que s’il s’était agi d’une vraie arme], But the harm that Maynard wanted to cause was not like someone using a real weapon. ⁇
So Judge Mr. Simon Leduk and Mr. Gabriel Proup – accepting Bouchard’s arguments and declaring the overall sentence for his crimes inactive.
With detention, Maynard will still serve 10 and a half years.
If the King of Quebec or the Attorney General wishes to challenge this decision, the case has 30 days to be appealed.
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