Justice George Murphy didn’t mince words Friday when he sentenced Dillon Bourgeois to three more years in prison.
“A human life is precious and so far, Mr. Bourgeois, you have wasted yours,” the judge told the 26-year-old Corner Brook man who was found guilty last February of being part of an armed robbery at the Corner Brook Esso gas station in July 2015.
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Bourgeois has been in custody since his arrest for taking part in the stabbing of Jonathan Park in October 2015, a crime for which Bourgeois was sentenced to serve five years.
He was charged in relation to the robbery while he was incarcerated and after the primary accomplice in the armed robbery, Jonathan Park’s brother Ashley Park, had been convicted and sentenced to 42 months.
At trial, Murphy agreed with evidence that Bourgeois had assisted Park in robbing the gas station. The court had heard he helped ensure Park could gain access to the business late at night, although the 24-hour gas station’s door was not locked as the two had expected it to be after hours.
Murphy, who considered the lesser role Bourgeois played, said he could not ignore his lengthy criminal record and disciplinary issues while incarcerated.
Crown attorney Lori St. Croix had asked Murphy to sentence Bourgeois to 3-3 1/2 years, while defence lawyer Shelley Senior asked for a sentence of 2-3 years.
Senior noted Bourgeois’ actions were largely guided by drug addiction at the time, that he has not had any disciplinary issues in prison in the last 18 months and is intent on trying to turn his life around.
In sentencing him, Murphy said the prospects for rehabilitation appear bleak, but noted he could not say it was impossible.
“I truly hope you are able to overcome your drug addiction and change your attitude toward life so that you can finally start leading a productive and law-abiding life,” Murphy said to Bourgeois, who appeared in court via video from prison Friday.
The three-year sentence will run consecutively to the five-year sentence Bourgeois is currently serving.
Bourgeois was also ordered to provide authorities with a sample of his DNA and is subject to a weapons prohibition for the rest of his life.
