Five-year sentence for violent robberies

Homeless, hungry and in the grip of a grab-bag of drugs, Jayden Smith was “in a terrible state of crisis, turmoil and poverty” when he stabbed a 59-year-old grocery store clerk in the chest, a judge said before sentencing him to just more than five years in prison.

Smith, now 20, pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery with a weapon and one count of aggravated assault in connection to two robberies committed 10 days apart in November 2023.

Court heard Smith, 18 at the time and with no criminal record, was armed with a hammer when he and an unidentified co-accused entered a Giant Tiger store on Donald Street on Nov. 19, stuffed their pockets with grocery items and tried to leave without paying.

When a store security officer tried to take a picture of the co-accused, Smith came at the man with a hammer. The security officer wrested the hammer from Smith, at which point his co-accused threatened the man with an axe. The security officer dropped the hammer and Smith and the co-accused fled the store.

Ten days later, Smith entered a No Frills grocery store on Notre Dame Avenue armed with a knife and filled a shopping bag with meat, cheese and Kraft Dinner packages. Security video captured Smith trying to leave the store without paying for the food when he was approached from behind by a 59-year-old female store employee.

Smith turned around and stabbed the woman twice, once in the chest. Smith threatened another employee who tried to intervene and fled the store.

“The entire incident was approximately 20 seconds; the damage caused to the victim, however, is immeasurable,” said provincial court Judge Lisa LaBossiere, noting the woman suffered a collapsed lung and broken rib and continues to live with “profound psychological effects,” including flashbacks, nightmares and panic attacks.

“Her life is forever changed” by Smith’s “brutal and unprovoked attack,” LaBossiere said.

Police arrested Smith for the No Frills robbery on Dec. 1 and released him on an undertaking. He was rearrested a day later for the Giant Tiger robbery and remained in custody.

According to a pre-sentence report prepared for court, Smith told a probation officer he commonly carried a hammer or other weapons to “intimidate” store staff and allow him to escape after committing a robbery.

The report describes a life rife with neglect, poverty and abuse. Smith, who is Indigenous, spent most of his childhood in a series of foster placements, where he suffered both physical and sexual abuse and was exposed to racism. Court heard Smith has been diagnosed with severe depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and suffers from hallucinations.

At 17, he was removed from a rural placement, and transitioned into an independent living placement in Winnipeg, despite concerns from both a psychologist and former foster parent he wasn’t equipped to live independently. Smith was evicted from his placement after an argument with staff and later evicted from a rooming house, after which he became homeless and fell into drug use, including methamphetamine and crack.

“It is clear he suffered an extreme amount of hardship from birth until the time of the offences,” LaBossiere said. “His Gladue factors are central to how he became involved in the justice system.”

Smith received credit for time served, reducing his remaining sentence to approximately 2½ years.

His sentencing was delivered last month as Winnipeg continues to face a rising tide of violent retail thefts.

On Tuesday, a Unicity Walmart security officer was almost shot in the head with an airgun during a robbery. Four teens face armed robbery charges.

Last week, a police officer suffered minor injuries after confronting a man accused of stealing from a Donald Street store. A week earlier, a security guard at a Stafford Street No Frills was nearly stabbed after stopping a man suspected of trying to leave with meat.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca