Prince Albert Provincial Court. (File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Court proceedings

Convenience store robber enters guilty pleas, receives two-year jail sentence

Apr 28, 2022 | 2:00 PM

A man responsible for two armed robberies in Prince Albert where he threatened the convenience store clerks with bear spray has received a two year jail sentence.

Anthony Halcro, 35, appeared in person Thursday morning at Provincial Court.

According to the statement of facts read in court by Crown Prosecutor Doug Howell, both robberies occurred in the evening hours of Oct. 3, 2021, and were less than two hours apart.

In the first incident, Halcro was accompanied by a female accomplice when he entered a store in the city’s midtown area. As the female ordered customers in the store to get out, Halcro, who had his hair dyed blond and was wearing a mask, went to the clerk and demanded money.

He instructed the clerk that if he did not make a fuss, he would not get sprayed.

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The suspects left the store with between $400 and $600, and sped off in a black Dodge charger.

Roughly an hour and a half later, they then went to a store in the Redwing area and did the same thing. This time Halcro stole $500 but gave $50 back to the clerk “for his trouble.”

The Dodge Charger was soon after located by police in the Walmart parking lot, and Halcro was arrested.

According to Halcro’s lawyer, his crime was fueled by a drug addiction, and he was feeling depressed due to a recent breakup of a long-term relationship.

In her closing remarks, Judge F. Daunt commented on the fact Halcro had no criminal record and appeared to have spiralled out of control.

“That’s very sad to see that,” she said.

Through his lawyer, Halcro said he does feel better now that hes’s sober, is remorseful for his actions, and indicated plans to seek counseling and treatment for his addictions issues.

In addition to his custodial sentence, he will also be prohibited from owning or possessing any firearm or explosives for a period of 15 years.

“The clock doesn’t start ticking until you’re out of jail,” Daunt said.

Halcro also received a 324 day sentence for an incident that happened on April 22, 2021, in which he was stopped by police while walking in the area of Eight Avenue West and River Street. Noticing a sawed off rifle sticking out of his sweater, police searched Halcro and found a number of other weapons including a pellet gun, ammunition and knives.

With time spent in remand, Halcro received time served for the weapons charges. The two-year sentence begins today.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell