A drug-fuelled crime spree in the Peden Hill area of Prince George a year ago has earned a man two more years in jail.
Provincial court judge Victor Galbraith issued the term to Clayton Joseph Nex, 20, at the Prince George courthouse on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to a handful of charges related to a 90-minute tear during the morning of Dec. 18, 2012.
It began at about 9 a.m. when a "drugged out" Nex approached a teenage boy walking to school along Ferry Avenue near Ospika and demanded he "gimme your stuff," the court heard prior to sentencing. The boy emptied his pockets and Nex made off with a red lighter and a pair of sunglasses.
About 15 minutes later, Nex was behind the wheel of a minivan that had been left running in the driveway of a 2700 block South Ospika Blvd. home with the keys in the ignition, the door unlocked and the owner inside her home waiting for it to warm up.
And about 20 minutes after that, a man called RCMP to say Nex had tried to steal his car while it was parked on Athlone Avenue off Westwood Drive. Nex had told the man he had a gun, made a gesture to the inside of his jacket, and demanded the keys to his car. The man handed the keys over but then changed his mind and wrestled them back from Nex, who appeared drunk and was easy to confront. Nex retreated to the van but then rammed the car three times before taking off.
At 10:17 a.m., a man called RCMP to say a minivan had just hit his vehicle as it was parked in the driveway of a 4000-block Lansdowne Rd. home. Witnesses later said Nex had rammed the car into the home's garage door, pushing the vehicle about five feet while the owner, who was in the home, thought a small earthquake had erupted.
Nex then reversed out of the driveway and left at a high speed. And at 10:21 a.m., a woman called RCMP to say the minivan bumped into her vehicle as she was driving along Cowart Road to Highway 16.
By the time RCMP tracked Nex down, he was on foot near the Wood Wheaton dealership. They found the red lighter on him and the minivan nearby with damage to it.
Nex pleaded guilty to counts of robbery, attempted robbery and dangerous driving from the incident but that wasn't all. Nex also received concurrent terms for trafficking from a March 2012 takedown in Fort St. John, for breaching his bail in May while out on the Prince George charges, and for uttering threats while in custody after he was arrested for the breach.
Nex, who is Haitian by birth, grew up in a middle class home in the Lower Mainland after he was adopted by Canadian parents at nine months old. Defence lawyer Connor Carleton said there is concern Nex, who remains in the process of completing high school, has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder passed down through his biological parents.
Nex moved to Fort St. John in search of work in the oilpatch but lacked the qualifications and got into drug trafficking. At about that time, Nex's mother had moved to Prince George and subsequent to his release from custody in Fort St. John, he moved here as well in November 2012.
Nex admitted he had been out with others doing drugs throughout the night prior to his spree in Prince George and, following his arrest, had little recollection of the events, Carleton said.
As for the breach of his bail, RCMP had pulled Nex over after seeing him behind the wheel of a car with his mother in the passenger seat. After his arrest, a small amount of marijuana was found on Nex.
Nex was on 24-hour house arrest and was prohibited from driving and consuming alcohol, let alone drugs, but was allowed to leave the home provided his mother was in his company.
About to start a new job, Nex was suffering from anxiety and unable to sleep but had found marijuana would calm him down and admitted he was on his way to buy a small amount when he was pulled over.
Three days later, while in custody at the Prince George courthouse, he appeared agitated and when a sheriff asked him what was wrong, Nex went into a tirade about the arresting officer and said he thought "it was only fair he put the constable six feet under" for making him miss his aunt's funeral.
Despite the threat, Carleton maintained Nex is not a violent person and noted he never actually produced a weapon during the robberies. Carleton also said Nex, once properly diagnosed and treated for his mental health issues, "can move forward in a positive direction."
Given a chance to speak to the court, Nex apologized for his actions.
The sentence was the result of a joint submission by defence and Crown lawyers. In agreeing with the submission, Galbraith called the case was unusual in the sense that Nex had no previous criminal record but conversely did commit "a series of very serious offences."
