A Lumby man arrested in connection with a 2016 robbery at a village convenience store has been sentenced to nearly two years in jail for his crimes.
Thomas Antoine August Belanger, born in 1981, pleaded guilty in Vernon Provincial Court in December to counts of robbery and unlawful confinement.
Court records show Belanger was sentenced to 23 months in prison and will be placed on three years probation at the end of his prison time. He was given a 10-year firearms prohibition and ordered to pay a $100 victim surcharge.
On April 24, a female clerk of the Mac’s Convenience Store was held at knife point after a lone man entered the store shortly after 1 a.m.
The man locked the door leading outside and held a knife to the employee, forcing her to sit on the floor behind the till.
An undisclosed amount of cash, lottery tickets and cigarettes were stolen.
More than a week later, two men, including Belanger, were arrested.
The other accused’s matters on the case are still before the courts.
Keegan Riley Reed, born in 1995, is to stand trial in March on counts of robbery, unlawful confinement, uttering threats, being an accessory after the fact and breach of an undertaking.
WorkSafe B.C., at the time of the incident, found the store to be in contravention of a couple of items under Occupational Health and Safety regulations.
