A Prince George man who allowed his buddy to hop back into his pickup truck after carrying out two muggings was sentenced Wednesday to 90 days in jail.
After drinking and consuming cocaine during the evening of Feb. 8, 2015, Calvin Douglas John Hiemstra, 27, and Alexander John Schmidt, 24, and two others who were not named during a hearing in provincial court, decided to go for a joyride in Hiemstra's vehicle.
As they drove along, talk of robbing some people came up, the court was told, and with Hiemstra behind the wheel and Schmidt in the passenger seat, they made their way to the 2300 block of Ferry Ave. where they saw a man about their age walking along the sidewalk.
Schmidt got Hiemstra to stop the vehicle, hopped out, threatened the man and demanded he turn over his backpack and wallet.
It was not entirely clear Hiemstra knew Schmidt was going to rob the man and had he not pleaded guilty to robbery from the incident, it would have been an issue at trial, the court was told.
However, to the extent Hiemstra let Schmidt back into the truck with the stolen items, he was culpable, it was added.
A few minutes later, the same stunt was pulled again, this time with Schmidt going after two people in the 1200 block of Douglas Street. Schmidt made off with a wallet, cigarettes and a lighter before they drove off once more.
RCMP arrested the two the next morning.
Schmidt was subsequently identified as the perpetrator and in June he was sentenced to nine months in jail followed by 18 months probation.
Prior to sentencing on Wednesday, Hiemstra apologized to his actions and added that, at the time, he didn't think he had an alcohol and drug problem but now realizes he does and has remained sober ever since. Schmidt also apologized prior to his sentencing.
Hiemstra will serve the term on weekends and it will be followed by 18 months probation.
In sentencing Hiemstra, provincial court judge Dan Weatherly reluctantly accepted a joint submission from Crown and defence councils.
Even if he was drunk and on drugs, he was still responsible for his actions, Weatherly told Hiemstra. However, Weatherly also noted the pre-sentence report for Hiemstra was positive.
