A Red Deer judge handed an eight-year jail sentence to the man who twice-robbed the Olds TD Canada Trust in less than a year. Judge G.E. Deck sentenced Rory Alan Jackson, 47, on April 30 to four years in prison for the Jan. 24 robbery of the bank along with an extra year of jail time for using an imitation firearm while committing the robbery. The night before the bank robbery, Jackson robbed the Gaetz Avenue Liquor Store in Red Deer. For this crime, Deck gave Jackson one year plus a second year for use of an imitation firearm while committing the robbery. Jackson also received one year in prison for wearing a mask while committing this crime but that year will be served concurrently with the year he will serve for the robbery. For the June 4, 2013, robbery of the Olds TD Canada Trust, Deck gave Jackson one year in jail. The other charges Jackson was sentenced for include breaching recognizance orders for attending the TD Canada Trust bank and possessing a weapon, for which he received two fines of $300 each, failing to comply with a recognizance for which he received another $300 fine, using fraudulent cheques to defraud Sundre's Bergen Liquor Store for $432.35 in liquor and Sundre's Sobeys grocery store of $1,797.99 in groceries— crimes that happened between July 11 and 13, 2013— for which he received two concurrent sentences of 30 days in jail, and driving while disqualified in May 2013, for which he received a sentence of 30 days in jail to be served concurrently with the other jail time he received. Referencing a Supreme Court of Canada decision handed down in early April regarding how much pre-sentencing credit a judge can give a person who has been denied bail, Deck gave Jackson 1.5 days of credit for each of the 87 days he has been in custody since his arrest in Innisfail following the Jan. 24 robbery in Olds. That credit works out to 130.5 days taken off of the four-year sentence for the Jan. 24 robbery. Jackson had pleaded guilty to these crimes on April 4. At that time, his lawyer, Donna Derie-Gillespie, told the court Jackson had committed the crimes due to a gambling problem brought on by the deaths of two romantic partners in his life. While the Crown had asked for a sentence at that time of eight to 11 years, Derie-Gillespie had argued Jackson's sentence should range from six to eight years based on a number of mitigating circumstances. These circumstances included his early guilty pleas in the matter, which would save the need for a lengthy trial that would force victims of the crimes to relive the anguish of those events, Jackson's clean criminal record and his concern for his elderly parents who he helps care for. She also asked the court to consider the liquor store robbery in Red Deer and the bank robbery less than 24 hours later as one continuous crime and argued Jackson should receive “enhanced” credit for the time he has already served in custody due to poor conditions at the remand centre where he is being held. In the lead up to Jackson's sentence, Deck said the maximum sentence he could hand down under the law was 13 years and six months, at which point an audible gasp came from members of Jackson's family present in court. Deck agreed with certain mitigating factors, however, such as Jackson's early guilty pleas and the remorse he has shown for his crimes. He also said he considered treating the liquor store robbery and the following bank robbery as a “single transaction” for the purpose of sentencing since they took place in a close period of time and were similar in nature. “However, Mr. Jackson cannot expect a free ride with respect to the liquor store robbery,” Deck said. He also said Jackson's concerns regarding the effect of his prison sentence on his parents was not a mitigating factor as, according to precedent law Deck cited in court, sympathy for a criminal's family cannot override other circumstances. Jackson, who appeared in court with a black eye and wearing remand centre coveralls, said nothing during the sentencing hearing. His parents declined to comment on the sentence Jackson received but his girlfriend, April Lundbek, who sat with Jackson's mother during the hearing, said Jackson “is loved.” “He's got the support of his family,” she said outside the courtroom. “He's going to be missed. He's a good guy who made a bad choice and I know that he's sorry for his involvement in these crimes.” When asked about her reaction to the sentence, Lundbek said it was “a little harsher” than what she was expecting. “But he made a bad choice and he's got to do what he's got to do.” Lundbek added the sentencing was hard on Jackson's parents but “they're holding up.”
