A Kelowna man who gained a little notoriety for being a "polite robber" after using pleases and thank-yous during a 2014 hold-up will soon learn if he's headed to prison
Brandon Oswald was convicted in June for robbery, disguising his face with the intent to commit an offence and the use of an imitation firearm after a 2014 robbery of Shoppers Drug Mart.
There was an expectation that Oswald would be sentenced for those crimes in August, but his lawyer raised a constitutional challenge to the mandatory minimum sentence set out for his convictions. They said any further time behind bars would be cruel and unusual punishment as he was currently leading a productive and healthy life.
Oswald is, according to his lawyer, contrite for the crimes he committed, staying out of trouble and working.
Well dressed and seemingly affable, he also appeared significantly less dangerous than how he was described after his March 11, 2014 arrest.
Oswald was presented as a pill popper willing to menace the community to feed his addiction. He had allegedly been linked to other crimes at the time of his arrest, which was shortly after brandishing a gun and robbing the Dobbin Road Shopper drug mart —a crime he committed politely, using his “please and thank yous” throughout.
All in all, Crown argued, the case was "garden variety" and a sentence of three to five years, less a year for time served, would be appropriate.
The trial will conclude Nov. 18.