Crown prosecutor Steve Hamilton outlined details for each of the robberies and how the police tracked the pair down.

Following the June 16 robbery, Guelph police teamed up with York Regional police after noticing the Guelph robbery was very similar to a robbery in Aurora on May 14, 2013.

In both cases, a masked man with a black gun forced employees to the back of the store and tied their wrists with zip-ties. High-end mobile phones and expensive electronics, were placed into a black garbage bag. Employees also were forced to surrender their own cell phones and personal belongings.

Officers were able to acquire phone records from providers to figure out if any phones were being used in specific locations during each of the robberies. One phone record they came across stood out to them – a phone operated by Chatr Wireless, a subsidiary of Rogers.

It was the only active account being used at the time, date and location of the June 16 robbery, said Hamilton. This service provider is known for often being used for criminal activity, he said, because subscribers are able to use fake names without being checked. The account in question was issued to a “Bob Marley,” he said.

York Region police also discovered two phones used at the same time and location as the robbery in Aurora, under the names Beyonce Knowles and Malcolm X. The phone registered to Malcolm X turned out to be the same physical phone that was used under the name Bob Marley.

Police then acquired security footage from where and when the Marley phone was activated. Officers also began tracking the location of that phone, figuring out where the owner lived.

This information took them to an apartment complex in Toronto, where Johnson and Lall were living. Looking at security footage from an elevator camera, the pair were seen to be leaving the complex just hours before each of the Aurora and Guelph robberies. They were also wearing the same clothing as the robbery suspects.

When police searched their home in August 2013, they found a gun with a prohibited capacity magazine in plain view. They also found a knapsack with a knife, garbage bags, and zip-ties, “indicative of a robbery kit,” Hamilton said.

Victim impact

Justice Durno said the court received 11 victim impact statements resulting from these robberies. Five of the victims – all former employees at the stores that were robbed – read their statements aloud in court.

“They provided a brief glance of how terrifying it must have been to be in the robberies, the impact of having a gun pointed at them,” he said about the statements. “Clearly on each and every one of them, these robberies have had a profound impact and their lives have changed.”

Jasmine Prince, 23, was working at the Source in Guelph when the robbery took place. As soon as she began her statement, she began to cry.

“I could not talk with clients without thinking they were going to hurt me or rob me,” she said. “I still to this day have a fear of being left alone.”

Prince said she tried to return to work after two weeks but found that she couldn’t do it.

Jennifer Moreira worked at the Guelph Rogers Plus store when it was robbed. When she read her statement she made sure to face the pair who robbed her at gun point. Johnson kept his head bowed low during most of the statements, but Lall had her head up, facing the front for most of them.

“On Dec. 5, 2012, I lost my sense of security for over 20 minutes, I had no control over my own life,” Moreira said. “'I don’t have a will,' was the last thing I said to my fiancé. All I could do was stand there and cry.”

She said she saw numerous therapists following the robbery and was eventually diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

“I will never get back what was taken from me that day.”

Actual sentence

Having spent the last three years in Maplehurst Correctional Complex, Johnson will receive 1.5 times that amount knocked off his 10-year sentence.

Lall, a single mother of three children, will receive three months off her five-year sentence for time already served.

Johnson, with a prior robbery conviction, also received a lifetime ban on owning any weapons.

For Lall, without having a criminal record, that ban was limited to 10 years.

A total of five people were involved in the 2012-2013 robberies. One was dealt with separately and two others, Nathan Okoko and Mark Harrison, pleaded guilty and were each sentenced to around 15 months in jail in December 2014.

Johnson and Lall didn’t plead guilty but they were found guilty in an earlier court appearance. Because they didn’t actually plead guilty but were found guilty in a non-contested plea agreement, they have a much better chance at an appeal.

Johnson’s defence attorney, Stacey Taraniuk, said he was unsure if Johnson would appeal or not.

Lall’s attorney, Scott Reid, said Lall plans on appealing.