A man who wielded a needle filled with his own blood in an attempt to steal an SUV from a Prince George car wash was sentenced Thursday to seven years in federal prison.
Less credit for time served, Joseph Donald West, 34, will serve six years and five months of new time for a May 26 incident at Finish Line Autocare at 1105 Victoria St.
Just as an employee had pulled the vehicle up to a vacuum and was preparing to clean it out, West appeared with the syringe in hand. West, who was wearing a pair of pants on his head either to hide his identity or to staunch some bleeding from a cut on his face, warned that he had HIV and told the employee to back away from the vehicle.
West got in, closed the door and attempted to start the vehicle but apparently did not know how, turning on the windshield wipers at one point.
By then, the vehicle's owner and car wash staff had surrounded the vehicle, pulled West out, knocked the needle out of his hand and wrestled him to the ground.
It was the third in a series of offences West had committed dating back to June 29, 2014 when he mugged a man for his wallet near the corner of Victoria Street and Diefenbaker Drive.
West committed the crime while still on parole after completing two-thirds of a four-year sentence for the Nov. 19, 2010 armed robbery of the Denny's restaurant on Central Street East, in which two masked men threatened staff with a machete and a kitchen knife. And just nine days before the incident at the car wash, West was caught on video stealing a high-end BMX bike from a secure compound at 733 Second Ave.
Two days later, an RCMP officer spotted West on a different bike at the bus stop across from Finish Line and arrested him. By then the bike West stole had been "parted out."
West was released from custody some time later and showed up at the car wash. He has remained in custody ever since and received credit of 1.5 days for each day served prior to sentencing.
A member of the Takla First Nation, West was born in Fort St. James to parents who went to the Lejac residential school near Fraser Lake. From four years old to age 19, he lived in a series of foster homes in Prince George, Williams Lake, Saskatoon and Fort St. James and lived briefly on the Takla reserve.
West, who has a Grade 6 education and has not held down a job as an adult, has been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. He began drinking and smoking marijuana at age 13 and by 2001 was taking drugs intravenously and, as a result, contracted HIV.
The court also heard West, who took in the proceeding from Prince George Regional Correctional Centre via teleconference, looks forward to taking advantage of the programs offered in the federal system to deal with his addictions and obtain job-related skills.
And when given a chance to speak to the court, West apologized for his actions.
"I know I caused a lot of pain and I'm sorry for that," West said.
In passing sentence, provincial court judge Randall Callan agreed to a joint submission from Crown and defence counsels.
"He's still a young man and I hope through this sentence that he can perhaps finally get the help he needs to properly participate in society," Callan said.
West was sentenced to concurrent terms of one year for the wallet theft and six months for the bike theft and issued a lifetime firearms prohibition.
