A Lacombe teenager faces a jail sentence for a spree of paintball gun shootings, including entering a McDonalds, covering his face with his shirt and firing paintballs at employees.
Justin Calderbank, 19, of Lacombe pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon and mischief charges in October 2013 for the March 14, 2013, incident. He was sullen in Red Deer provincial court Tuesday as judge Gordon Deck passed sentence, a 90-day intermittent sentence to be served on weekends.
Calderbank, along with three others, was arrested on March 14 after reports of people being shot with paintball guns throughout north Red Deer.
Crown Prosecutor Robin Snider called the incident terrifying, adding it was completely disturbing behaviour that could have been more serious.
She showed footage taken by the people arrested on a camera phone of the incidents to the court. In all of the videos Calderbank is shown firing the paintball gun.
In the first video he is seen outside the Tim Hortons, near the intersection of Gaetz Avenue and 67th Street, firing at the building. Then they went to the Boston Pizza on Gaetz Avenue near 76th Street where Calderbank fired on people smoking outside of the restaurant. In the final video he is seen entering the McDonalds just south of Boston Pizza on Gaetz, his face is covered and he starts firing paintballs aimed at employees behind the counter. In each incident a girl is heard laughing in the background as the shootings occur.
Snider suggested a six month jail term for the teenager, who was 18 at the time of the incident.
Calderbank had his head down throughout the showing of the three videos. His defence counsel, Murray Shack, called the behaviour shocking and said Calderbank was physically sick while watching the videos.
Shack said when Calderbank was arrested he clearly indicated he was the shooter and gave a full statement to police. He was told of his rights to obtain legal counsel, but said he was the shooter and gave a full statement without counsel.
On his first court appearance Calderbank wanted to enter a guilty plea, but because of the seriousness of the charges he was referred to obtain some legal advice.
Shack said the shooting was not his idea, but instead the suggestion of the laughing woman from the videos.
To counter what he called a harsh sentence, Shack suggested a 90-day sentence to be served intermittently, allowing Calderbank to maintain his employment.
Deck said he thought Calderbank’s remorse was genuine, but he was in a difficult spot in passing sentence. While he wanted to give Calderbank credit for the remorse shown, he also wanted the sentence to be a deterrent to other young people who could commit a similar offence.
Deck agreed with Shack’s suggestion of a 90-day sentence, but also included a suspended sentence of 18 months and a total fine of $500.
As well, Calderbank received a lifetime ban from owning firearms and was ordered to provide a DNA sample.
Two other adults were charged in the incident, Lucas Andreef, 21, and Ashley Young, 19. A youth was also arrested.
mcrawford@www.reddeeradvocate.com