A Red Deer man received a three-year jail sentence for robberies at Central Alberta pharmacies in 2011.
James Christopher Wilkinson, 26, pleaded guilty in Red Deer provincial court on Jan. 20 to two counts of robbery and one count of breaching a recognizance.
Wilkinson was sentenced on Tuesday to a total of two years and nine months for robbery and three months for the breach. He was ordered to provide a DNA sample and is prohibited from possessing weapons for 10 years.
Previously, RCMP said that at about 5:15 p.m. on July 6, 2011, employees of Rimbey Value Drug Mart reported that a man at the prescription drug counter produced a note demanding prescription drugs. Staff refused to provide the drugs and he fled the store.
A short time later, a man with the same description was observed in the area of the Bentley IDA Pharmacy. No attempt at a robbery was made at this location.
Then at 7:45 p.m., Blackfalds RCMP members responded to a complaint of a robbery at the IDA Drug Store in Blackfalds. A man who demanded a quantity of prescription drugs received the drugs, then fled in a waiting motor vehicle.
On Tuesday, in Red Deer provincial court, a preliminary hearing was held for Allan Dennis Giesbrecht, 38, formerly of Red Deer, who faced two counts of robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery.
A preliminary is held to determine if there’s enough evidence to warrant an accused be tried in Court of Queen’s Bench.
Judge Darrell Riemer ruled there was insufficient evidence to proceed on the charges and Giesbrecht was discharged.