A Saskatoon judge has sentenced a man to four years in prison for offending behaviour — including armed robberies, vile threats and violence — that is “rooted in addiction.”
Sentencing arguments were made last month for 26-year-old Cody Glenn Arthur Korsberg, who pleaded guilty to robbery, assault, breaking and entering and arson — offences he committed in Saskatoon, Lethbridge and while he was in custody at the Saskatoon Correctional Centre.
Court heard how Korsberg broke into Action Confectionary on Arlington Avenue before the store opened on April 25, 2013. A month later, he robbed a clerk at the same store while the blade of a knife poked out from his sleeve.
He was granted bail and went on to rob a man in a Lethbridge liquor store parking lot. Upon his arrest, he threatened to rape a police officer and kill his family.
During his time on remand, Korsberg punched an inmate 20 times and started a garbage can fire while refusing to comply with a lockdown.
The Crown argued for a five-year sentence to reflect the severity of Korsberg’s offences and the need to protect vulnerable workers.
Robbery is a serious crime where denunciation and deterrence are “of the utmost importance,” Judge Vanessa Monar Enweani said when outlining the aggravating factors in the case. She also mentioned the mitigating factors, such as Korsberg pleading guilty, being remorseful and having no previous criminal record, that were taken into consideration when crafting a fair sentence.
The offender was motivated to commit the robberies to fuel his drug habit, Monar Enweani noted. In arguing for a three-and-a-half year sentence, the defence highlighted many of Korsberg’s personal issues, including addictions stemming from exposure to drugs and alcohol by the age of nine and childhood domestic violence.
Korsberg also joined a gang when he was young, but recently dropped his affiliation and wants to get help for his addictions, says his lawyer. It differs from when he told a pre-sentence report writer that he didn’t need addictions treatment; when asked if he could leave negative peers behind, Korsberg replied “Once in, you can’t get out.”
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