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Man charged in 2015 Sicamous robbery to be sentenced in August

Accused, who was shot by police, pleads guilty to three of nine counts.
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RCMP block the driveway of a Canoe property where a suspect in an armed robbery in Sicamous on July 3, 2015 was alleged to have left his vehicle after fleeing police. (File photo)

The man who was charged in connection with a 2015 armed robbery in Sicamous that ended up with police shooting the suspect in Canoe will be sentenced this summer.

Shyan Davis Callingbull Coon, born in 1995, will be sentenced Aug. 7 in the Salmon Arm Law Courts on three of the nine counts he was intially facing.

Earlier this year Coon pleaded guilty to: robbery; using an imitation firearm while committing or attempting to commit the robbery; and assaulting a police officer using a baseball bat.

The incident took place on July 3, 2015 and the shooting of the accused by police was also the subject of an investigation by the Independent Investigations Office (IIO). The IIO considered that RCMP officers may have committed criminal offences and on that basis a report was submitted to Crown Counsel for review by the BC Prosecution Service.

Related: Armed robbery suspect abandons vehicle in Canoe driveway

Related: Nine charges in armed robbery

Less than two weeks ago, the results of that review were released.

The BC Prosecution Service announced on May 16 that no charges will be laid against two Salmon Arm RCMP officers who were involved in the shooting. During their efforts to apprehend the suspect, the officers discharged their firearms in separate encounters with him. In the second encounter, he sustained serious gunshot injuries, was transported to hospital for medical treatment and subsequently recovered.

The IIO did not make a recommendation on whether charges should be approved.

Related: RCMP shooting referred to Crown counsel

After reviewing all the evidence provided, the prosecution service concluded that the standard for laying charges had not been met.

Police reports at the time said the suspect had committed an armed robbery of a gas station in Sicamous before fleeing the scene in a vehicle. RCMP, with the help of a 911 call from a Canoe resident, later found the vehicle in Canoe, where it had been abandoned in a residential driveway.

A perimeter was established and a police dog and handler were brought to the scene. During the search, the dog handler was allegedly confronted by the suspect and the officer discharged his sidearm.

One officer was also taken to hospital for a medical assessment.

The prosecution service stated on May 16 that the reasons for not approving charges against the police will be made public once the accused’s charges are through the courts.


@SalmonArm
marthawickett@saobserver.net

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Martha Wickett

About the Author: Martha Wickett

came to Salmon Arm in May of 2004 to work at the Observer. I was looking for a change from the hustle and bustle of the Lower Mainland, where I had spent more than a decade working in community newspapers.
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