A criminal who has spent most of his life in prison says he is “happy” to return for a dozen years after a series of armed robberies, in the hope of becoming a better person.
“This is an extremely serious sentence. It may seem funny to say, but Mr.e Nicolas Lemelin, lawyer for Richard Cardin, 49, last Friday at the Saint-Jérôme courthouse.
He was sentenced to 12 years in prison following a common suggestion “which may seem severe, but which is adapted to the situation”, said judge Kathlyn Gauthier. Cardin was also declared a long-term offender.
Although according to his Facebook profile, his favorite quote is “not guilty,” Cardin has admitted his guilt on 10 counts of robbery.
His crimes date back to August 2018, barely 2 months after his release on parole.
He and his young accomplice Patrick Jr Rochefort went to bars, both in Montreal and on its shores, to hold them up, disguised and armed with revolvers and nail bars.
The thieves kept the same modus operandi by threatening the person in charge, before demanding the contents of the cash drawer and fleeing in a sedan-type Mercedes.
In three months, the violence of their strikes has only increased. However, the bandits took care to reassure the customers that they had no intention of attacking them, going so far as to refuse their offerings. They said they wanted to pay off some homeowners’ drug debts. They stole for no less than $ 21,000.
The brigands were arrested on November 4, after two robberies.
The evidence gathered left no doubt as to their involvement in all of these crimes.
In a letter to the court, a victim described suffering from depression, hypervigilance and nightmares. She wrote fearing to see the duo again.
Emotional before returning to the penitentiary, the inmate addressed his victims.
“I had no right to harm you. It’s the biggest mistake of my life, he said. Forgive my mistakes so that I can heal myself. “
Cardin spent most of his adult life in prison. His father also led a similar life, having received a life sentence for murder.
The specialists thus consider that his risk of recurrence is high.
Listen to Félix Séguin’s column at Richard Martineau’s microphone on QUB radio:
“Not supervised, he has difficulty living in society,” summed up Cédrik Valiquette, Crown prosecutor.
“He’s sober and doing everything to make it the last time,” his legal aid lawyer said nonetheless. [Il sait que] this is his last chance. “
For her part, Justice Gauthier underlined Cardin’s capacity for empathy.
“I felt your apologies are sincere,” she said, saying she saw hope. You want to get out of it. Everything is in your hands. “
–With Christian Plouffe
