A B.C. woman who was almost shot by police after pointing an imitation gun has been given a conditional discharge on charges stemming from that and another incident.
B.C. Provincial Court Judge David St. Pierre heard Aug. 28 that Helena Marilyn Cynthia Joseph was charged with robbery, using an imitation firearm in committing an offence, possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose and breach of a release order.
Under the name Helena Marilyn Cuda Joseph, she was charged with assault, theft under $5,000 and mischief under $5,000.
The 24-year-old pleaded guilty to the lesser included offence of assault with a weapon on the robbery charge.
Crown prosecutor Sharon Preston told St. Pierre there were two incidents leading to the charges.
Preston said that, on July 26, 2022, Joseph went to the Super Valu grocery store at First Avenue and Commercial Drive in Vancouver and took about $30 worth of food before a store employee stopped her.
Joseph punched that man in the head and then knocked over a potted plant, the court heard.
“She was uncooperative, to say the least,” Preston said. “Ms. Joseph was not very nice that day.”
She was released on conditions, including staying away from the store area and having no weapons.
However, on May 23, 2023, Joseph returned to the store, Preston said. Another employee saw her loading $80 worth of food into a bag. Again she was stopped, this time kicking and spitting on the second employee. He had to use force to restrain her but she still managed to throw a bottle which smashed.
“She gets very agitated,” Preston said.
Joseph then went outside where she met her boyfriend.
Soon, she approached the front of the store holding a BB gun that Preston said looked real on video footage.
“She’s now pointing the gun into the store,” Preston said.
Police were called and found Joseph with her hands in her pockets.
“‘If you pull out a gun, you will be shot,’” Preston said an officer told Joseph. “‘Show me your hands.’”
“She was almost shot,” Preston told St. Pierre. “Pulling a gun at a store must be truly terrifying.”
The prosecutor told the judge Joseph has been in custody for 93 days, meaning she was entitled to 140 days of custody credit.
Preston asked for 18 months’ probation.
Defence lawyer Sonia Luck asked for a conditional discharge of 24 months, meaning Joseph, who has no criminal record, would not have one moving forward.
“She’s taking responsibility. She’s showing remorse,” Luck said of the guilty plea.
Part of Joseph’s release plan is that she is going to live with her grandparents on a remote island near Port McNeill near the north tip of Vancouver Island.
She was to be released from Alouette Correctional Centre for Women and taken to the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal. Her grandfather was due to meet her in Nanaimo and take her home.
“The key reason we organized this is to remove her from the Downtown Eastside . . . and reunite her with her family.”
The judge said her actions were done in the middle of an addiction to fentanyl and methamphetamine.
“You can continue down that path or have a healthy life,” he said. “I hope you’re saying to yourself, ‘I need to create a situation where that doesn’t happen again.’”
St. Pierre cautioned Joseph that she must obey the conditions of the discharge and not have a criminal record.
“It’s a huge benefit to you as a young person going forward into the working world,” he said.
