A bank robber with a long criminal record has been given a chance to participate in a new program at the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre.
Boyd Bullivant pleaded guilty last month to robbing the Scotiabank at Douglas Street and Hillside Avenue on May 20, 2011.
On Wednesday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Power sentenced Bullivant to 4 1/2 years in prison. Power gave Bullivant credit of 30 months for the 18 months he has spent in custody and imposed a new sentence of two years less a day, plus three years of probation. She recommended that the sentence be served as part of the province’s integrated offender management program, which focuses on high-risk offenders who want to end their criminal lifestyle.
“I don’t intend to lecture you,” Power said. “You realize you’re at the end of the road for any possible lifestyle beyond a custodial one. This program will hopefully help build yourself up. If you come before the courts again, you can expect to be dealt with very severely.”
Court heard that Bullivant entered the bank at 12:52 p.m., approached the teller and handed her a note that read: “This is a robbery. Give me all your $50 and $100s. I am armed and I will hurt you.”
The teller started pulling $50 bills from a drawer. Bullivant took his note back and told her to get more money.
A trainee teller was also threatened. Bullivant, who had his hand underneath his sweater as though he had a weapon, told the trainee to be quiet but said he would not harm him. Bullivant ran out of the bank with $2,200 in cash. He was arrested three days later.
Bullivant, who has a lengthy criminal record that dates back to 1982 and includes 27 break and enters and five robberies, was on parole at the time of the robbery. He was released from Kent Institution two days earlier, but never checked in with his halfway house.
The 46-year-old was raised in care and has spent most of his adult life in custody, his sentencing hearing heard. He has emotional issues and has used substances as a coping strategy.
Crown prosecutor Chandra Fisher asked Power to impose a sentence of five to seven years, arguing that the court’s primary concerns are the protection of the public and deterrence.
Defence lawyer Tim Russell asked for the 4 1/2-year sentence and 30 months credit for time served. Russell suggested Bullivant take part in the integrated offender management program, which takes a team approach to reduce behaviours that cause individuals to commit crime.
In sentencing Bullivant, Power said she gave greater weight to the principle of rehabilitation.
The new program “may in the end provide better prospects for Mr. Bullivant’s successful reintegration into the community and end his criminal lifestyle,” she said. “That is also in the public interest.”
