'Pure greed': Man sentenced to 9 years for Edmonton bank explosions, robbery
A B.C. man who detonated explosives at two Edmonton banks in 2018 has been sentenced to 9 1/2 years.
Justin Byron, 41, of Salmon Arm, B.C., pleaded guilty to making explosive devices, robbery with a firearm, aggravated assault and causing an explosion with intent to cause bodily harm.
“Mr. Byron's offences were premeditated, meticulously organized and planned, and executed with precision,” Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Tamara Friesen ruled.
“He intended to cause bodily harm … and he succeeded.”
The first incident occurred in September of 2018 at Royal Bank in southwest Edmonton. No money was taken but two security guards were injured by an improvised explosive device.
The second incident took place three months later at a northeast Edmonton Scotiabank location. Two GardaWorld guards were hospitalized after another explosive device was set off and an unknown amount of money was taken.
“The robberies consisted of planned ambushes with no motivation but pure greed,” Friesen said. “He should have both known better and done better.”
At the sentencing hearing in June, one of the guards described how he is permanently scarred, still suffers from hearing problems and has suffered financial and emotional harm.
Court heard that the first attack took place just over two weeks after the birth of his son and that Byron wanted the money to help pay for medical bills.
But, Friesen noted that there was no concrete evidence that the money taken was ever used to pay for medical expenses.
“To choose the path he did when confronted with intense financial and familial health pressures -- similar to what thousands of other Canadian families are confronted with on a daily basis -- is inexplicable and unjustifiable,” Friesen said.
“It is not the kind of a choice a pro-social person would ever even consider.”
With enhanced credit for more than 2 1/2 years already served in custody, Byron has just under five years remaining on his sentence.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Maximum payout for LifeLabs class-action drops from $150 estimate to $7.86
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.