Yellowknife (July 07/04) - Convicted armed robber Krys McInnes broke a lengthy silence to apologize to the victims and his family during a sentencing hearing Friday.

"I'm ashamed and saddened by the convictions and the negative attention I've drawn to myself and my family," McInnes read from a prepared statement. "There is no one in this courtroom that does not feel sorry for the Seagraves."

McInnes, who pleaded not guilty and did not testify during his trial, was convicted June 25 of robbing Gallery of the Midnight Sun owners John and Lisa Seagrave at gunpoint of just over $3,000 on Jan. 16, 2003.

Justice Virginia Schuler will sentence the 31-year-old McInnes in Supreme Court today at 10 a.m.

The armed robbery, the first of its kind in Yellowknife in years, shocked the community and brought pledges of $10,000 in reward money from local businesses.

At about 5 p.m. on that day, McInnes walked into the Gallery with a .303 rifle in hand and wearing a blue snowmobile suit and balaclava.

He went to the back of the gallery where the Seagraves were preparing to close.

There, he pointed the gun at Mr. Seagrave's chest, and calmly demanded he fill a bag with money. McInnes unsuccessfully tried four times to exit through the back door. McInnes left nothing but a boot print on the back steps after Mr. Seagrave helped him out the door.

Lisa Seagrave wrote in a victim impact statement submitted to the court that she had nightmares months after the incident about her husband John being hurt and brutalized in the robbery.

An event like the robbery "creates a wound that is slow to heal and actually leaves a scar," Mrs. Seagrave wrote.

Rifle use still matters

Crown attorney Noel Sinclair asked for a sentence of between seven and 10 years.

"Unless we want to turn our own communities into prisons for the members and the families that work there, we need to stop people from doing this," Sinclair said.

Defence attorney Hugh Latimer asked for a sentence of between 4.5 and five years because although a rifle was used, no one was injured.

Sinclair said that shouldn't matter. "It's just as hurtful to the victim whether it's loaded or unloaded."

McInnes spoke of difficulties in working through an addiction to cocaine, and said he has joined Alcoholics Anonymous.

At the time of the robbery, he was unemployed and without a place to live.

"It's the mistakes I've made that define me as much as anything else," McInnes said.

But problems with addiction should not lessen the sentence, Sinclair said.

"Wouldn't that send the message that if you're high on crack when you commit a robbery that you're going to get less of a sentence?" Sinclair asked.

McInnes was also convicted of obstruction of justice for indirectly threatening a witness and having his face masked while committing an indictable offence.

Reward split three ways

Meanwhile, the $10,000 reward offered for information leading to the robber's conviction may be split three ways, said the gallery owners.

John and Lisa Seagrave are waiting until McInnes is sentenced to decide how the reward will be paid.

Evidence from witnesses is being weighed for its importance in convicting McInnes, Seagrave said.

Between 30 and 40 Yellowknife businesses pledged money for the reward. Seagrave has to collect the money to distribute the reward.

"I just want to say thanks to the businesses of Yellowknife for all their help," Seagrave said.