Matt Olson, from St. Albert, Alta. was sentenced Tuesday at Prince Albert Court of Queen's Bench. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Home invasion

‘My actions are unforgivable’: Home invader receives 5 year prison sentence

Sep 9, 2020 | 12:15 PM

Almost five years after a man was robbed and assaulted in his home near MacDowall, court proceedings have wrapped up.

Matt Olsen received a five-year sentence at the conclusion of Tuesday’s hearing at Prince Albert Court of Queen’s Bench. The 30-year-old entered guilty pleas to break and enter with intent to commit a robbery, as well as assault with a weapon (pepper spray).

In the early morning hours of Sept. 12, 2015, Olson was one of three men who went to the home. While it’s unclear who did what, the elderly resident was beaten up and pepper sprayed prior to being robbed.

In a previous interview with paNOW, the victim’s daughter said she also had a gun pointed at her face, and claimed she was forced to lie on the ground while the three men went room to room looking for items to steal.

Prior to being sentenced, Olson read a letter of apology to the victim’s family. He said his letter was too late to mean much, but noted he was deeply sorry for the pain he caused.

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“My actions are unforgivable,” he said. “I’m not a monster, just an idiot who had the wrong friend and the wrong idea.”

Olson also addressed Justice Gary Meschishnick and said he was not the same drug-addicted man he once was.

A photo taken of the elderly victim at the time of the incident. (submitted photo/Andrea Hlewka)

Olson’s lawyer Brent Little told the judge Olson has been sober over a year, and requested Olson’s sentence be served at a prison in B.C. where he can be away from the threat and the influence of “western Saskatchewan gangs.”

The victims were not present in court to hear Olson’s apology.

In his closing remarks, Justice Meschishnick said he accepted Olson’s apology as genuine and added he would make the recommendation to Corrections Canada to have Olson transferred. With credit for time spent in remand, Olson has roughly 1,100 days left to serve in custody.

Olson was originally scheduled to face trial in April 2019, but his lawyer informed the court two weeks prior she had not heard from him. Olson was then on the run but was eventually caught and has been in custody since June 2019.

The co-accused in the case, Trevor Dustin Morin, 30, received a 15-year prison sentence last year for his role in the incident near MacDowall, as well as a separate home invasion in Saskatoon the following month.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell