Prince Albert Provincial Court. (File photo/ paNOW Staff)
Court proceedings

Lakeland car jacking results in nine-month jail sentence

Feb 9, 2023 | 1:51 PM

A man who was on probation, when he committed a carjacking- and held two young women captive, has received a nine-month jail sentence.

Cory Halkett, 32, appeared Thursday morning at Prince Albert Provincial Court and entered guilty pleas to two counts of unlawful confinement, as well as resisting arrest, and breach of a probation order.

The case, which dates back to Oct. 18, 2022, had originally been scheduled for trial; however, Halkett opted to change his pleas.

On the day of the incident, around 2:30 p.m., a vehicle was parked on the side of Highway 263.

Crown Prosecutor Doug Howell explained Halkett approached the vehicle, allegedly pointed a firearm at the occupants, and told them to give him a ride to a liquor store.

When the women declined, Halkett then informed them it wasn’t a request.

“Go or I’ll shoot you,” Howell read from the witness statement..

With Halkett sitting in the passenger seat, the car then proceeded down the highway but ran out of gas near the Tweedsmuir turnoff.

Soon after a family member arrived on scene and the two young women were able to escape without injury and called police. Howell explained the women later told officers they felt helpless and described the whole event as a blur.

When officers arrived on the scene, Halkett was still near the car, but soon after ran off into the forest. He was arrested the following day at Little Red River First Nation.

Howell indicated Halkett’s criminal record consists of six prior assaults. In June 2021, he received 731 days for an aggravated assault. With credit for time spent in remand, Halkett however had just over a year left to serve at the time of sentencing and was released in March, 2022.

Defence lawyer Ian Goldberg explained Halkett, who has connections to the Sucker River area as well as Little Red reserve, was intoxicated at the time of the incident by consuming both alcohol and drugs.

He added Halkett suffered from addictions for a long time, Goldberg explained Halkett had been apprehended at birth because his own parents had addiction issues, and was also later exposed to alcohol and domestic abuse while in the care of his grandparents.

When given the opportunity to speak, Halkett apologized to the justice system. He also made a request to have part of his sentence served at a rehab centre.

While initially noting his own struggles with the proposed sentence, Judge Schiefner ultimately accepted it.

Among the mitigating factors provided were the fact no gun was ever found, and had the case gone to trial, there would have been challenges with the Crown’s case with respect to the reliability of witness testimony.

Schiefner also noted Halkett’s early plea saved the young witnesses from having to testify.

“That would have been a very unpleasant experience for them,” he said.

For time spent in remand, Halkett was granted 177 days credit and following his release from custody, will be on probation for a period of nine months.

He’s also prohibited from owning or possessing any firearms or explosives for a period of ten years.

With respect to Halkett’s request, Schiefner explained he could make the recommendation but could offer no guarantees it would happen.

“You seem like a nice man Mr. Halkett but that’s not the man those women saw,” he said. “You need to pursue your sobriety.”

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell

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