A Smithers man who robbed a Prince George bank seven months ago was sentenced Friday to two years less a day followed by two years probation for a crime he described as the "stupidest, most irrational act" he's ever done.
Slightly more than two weeks after the Aug. 11, 2015 incident, Jonathan Beaver Tattersall, 32, pleaded guilty to three charges, subsequently apologized to the bank's employees and in the time he's been in custody has taken on any work or programs available to him.
Those were significant factors in Prince George provincial court judge Judith Doulis' decision to sentence Tatterall to provincial time so he could remain within B.C. and in contact with his family, rather than being transferred to an out-of-province federal institution.
Crown counsel had been seeking federal time of three to five years for the offence.
Wielding a BB handgun and wearing a hoody, goggles, dust mask and sweat pants, Tattersall walked into the TD Bank's College Heights branch shortly before 2:30 p.m. He pointed the gun at an employee, handed over a garbage bag and, after demanding money, made off with $3,400 in cash within about three minutes.
From there, he took off into a nearby wooded area and, after running as far as he could, changed out of the clothing and took off to West Lake provincial park where he took a shower and had a rest.
Tattersall had used flagging tape to mark where he had dropped off the clothes he was wearing in the robbery as well as $700 of the cash he stole. About an hour later, her returned to retrieve the items, by that time wearing a T-shirt, shorts, flip-flops and sunglasse and RCMP, who had come across the clothing with the help of a tracking dog, were waiting for him. Police found the remaining $2,700 in his pickup truck.
At the time of the robbery, Tattersall and his family were in "desperate straights."
In 2012, Tattersall, who does not have his Grade 12, had been laid off from a well-paying job at a mine and by 2015, he, his wife and their child were living with his mother in Smithers where he could find only piecemeal work in construction and as a carpet cleaner.
His wife became ill and could not work, then soon suffered a stroke that put her in the hospital. And her conditions required medication not covered by the province.
On August 5, Tattersall told his family he was going gold panning and, with his hunting gear loaded into his pickup, he drove out to West Lake where he spent time shooting at targets but "also stewed over his problems."
Tattersall eventually came up to an "astonishing solution to his financial distress," Doulis said. "He would rob a bank."
Tattersall later said it would be a one-time thing and his goal was to gather enough money to make a down payment on a house in Granisle.
He chose the branch because it was near a bushy area he could quickly escape into and had also covered his shoes, backpack and water bottle with green tape to help further disguise himself.
Tattersall's actions were caught on the branch's video camera and a bypasser who saw a man wearing a mask and wielding a gun heading into the bank quickly called RCMP.
Even if he hadn't used flagging tape to mark the area where he had left the clothing and $700, Doulis said RCMP would have set up a surveillance of the area to see if the culprit would return to the spot.
It was also noted Tattersall smoked marijuana at the time, spending up to $200 per month on the habit although Doulis found concerns about his family was the primary reason he committed the offence.
Tattersall received credit of 300 days time served, meaning he has 429 days left in custody.
Conditions of his probation include prohibitions from consuming alcohol and controlled drugs and to come no closer to than 50 metres of the bank he robbed. Tattersall was also issued a 10-year firearms prohibition.
