Bradley Tomeck was sentenced to five years in prison Monday for robbing a local credit union.
The 22-year-old Thunder Bay man was convicted of armed robbery, wearing a disguise and three firearms offences on May 4.
Tomeck will serve five years, the minimum sentence for using a restricted firearm in a robbery, minus the 248 days he spent in custody before Monday’s sentencing. The sentence also included a lifetime firearm ban.
The robbery occurred at the credit union on Rosslyn Road and Highway 130 around 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 19, 2011. A masked man entered the bank with a sawed-off shotgun and fled with more than $3,000 in cash.
Justice John Wright said the young age of the offender and the fact Tomeck had no prior record qualified him for the minimum sentence.
Wright added that Tomeck had none of the attributes of the young people who usually stand before him in court; he had a childhood free of social ills, no trouble in school, made friends easily and had no drug or alcohol problems.
“This is a real tragedy,” Wright said.
Those who know Tomeck were shocked by the incident and Wright said it seemed to come out of the blue.
Although no one was harmed in the robbery, Wright said it was still deliberate and showed planning; Tomeck wore a mask and used a sawed-off shotgun. The gun was also loaded.
Tomeck’s motive seemed to be simply to please his girlfriend with a trip to the Dominican Republic, which the down payment was due for on the day of the robbery.
The crown had asked for seven to 10 years, citing the planning and forethought of the robbery as a substantial degree of criminality in the offense.
Crown attorney Gordon Filmore said the robbery was not something done impulsively.
Meanwhile, Tomeck’s lawyer Gil Labine said he found Wright’s sentence to be fair.
“Justice Wright gave Mr. Tomeck the absolute minimum sentence he could according to the law,” he said. “I thought that was exactly what he should get.”
Tomeck has 30 days from the day of his sentence to decide whether he will appeal.
