A man has been sentenced to four years in prison for pressing a handgun to a woman’s face leaving a scar during a robbery attempt in Metro Vancouver.
According to a provincial court decision published Wednesday, Justin Hunt has pleaded guilty to three offences from his actions in 2019. An attempted robbery while using a restricted firearm, possession of an unloaded weapon and ammunition without a license, and possession of cocaine for trafficking. He also pleaded guilty to breaching a curfew order early this year.
He was sentenced to prison earlier this month by Robin McQuillan, a B.C. provincial court judge.
On Oct 18, 2019, Hunt and two accomplices followed two individuals out of a pub in Port Coquitlam to mug them.
Melissa Latorre and her male friend refused to hand over their wallets upon Hunt’s demand. He responded by punching and kicking Latorre’s friend. Hunt proceeded to pull out a loaded handgun and slam it onto Latorre’s forehead when she resisted him pulling her purse.
“She was left with a bleeding wound on her forehead that matched the size and shape of the barrel of the handgun,” the judge said in his decision.
After the incident, Hunt and his accomplices ran away, and police were called to the scene. After a few hours of investigation, police arrested two people, one of whom was Hunt.
Latorre’s victim statement states that she had difficulty sleeping after the incident occurred.
“She would wear sunglasses and a hat whenever she went out as she was terrified that the offender might see her and hurt her again,” the judge said.
McQuillan says the victim “continues to feel traumatized” by the incident.
“She is reminded of the incident whenever she looks in a mirror. Almost 5 years later, the scar remains, and she is considering undergoing expensive scar removal surgery,” he said.
According to McQuillan, the search of the two individuals led the police to discover some illicit items in their vehicle.
The items include the following:
- A wallet with Hunt’s identification and receipt for the purchase of Glock bullets,
- $5,000 cash
- A Blackberry cell phone with Hunt’s fingerprints
- A baggie containing methamphetamine and cocaine weighing 6.65 grams
- A bag containing a Glock handgun, along with a loaded magazine
- A Ruger handgun along with a loaded magazine
- A plastic grocery bag containing 117.6 grams of cocaine wrapped in small individual baggies
The judge said, an expert subsequently determined the cocaine seized from the trunk of the vehicle to have a street value of approximately $9,400.00.
Dr. Bartel, a psychologist assigned to assess Hunt said that he has a “lengthy history of gainful employment and pro-social involvement,” but notes that he has a history of substance abuse, previous violence, supervision failures and “young age at first violence.”
“Dr. Bartel is of the view that Mr. Hunt is at low to moderate risk to violently offend and/or criminally offend in the future. Should he return to a lifestyle of binge alcohol and drug use, and associating with negative peers, that risk would increase substantially,” the judge said.
McQuillan says Hunt was remorseful for his actions and said he did not want the victim to be re-traumatized if required to testify. He said he was “heavily intoxicated on alcohol and drugs” during the incident and is certain the offence would not have happened had he been sober.
Based on Hunt’s history, psychologist assessments and his statements, he has been sentenced to four years in prison, prohibited from possessing any firearm for 10 years, and prohibited from possessing any restricted firearms, weapons, devices or ammunition for life.