Senior with 42 robberies under his belt looking at spending rest of life in prison

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An 74-year-old man who has committed 42 robberies during his lengthy criminal career asked a judge for leniency on Thursday, as the Crown seeks to incarcerate him for the remainder of his life.

Defence lawyer Tim Dubé called the Crown’s request “a death sentence.”

Prosecutor Jessica Lavoie is seeking 15-18 years in prison for Radec Daniel Larmet, who pleaded guilty on Feb. 12 to using a revolver to rob cash from OMISTA Credit Union at the corner of Cornhill Street and St. George Street on June 12 and masking his face to commit an offence. Lavoie cited the fact this offence was the 42nd robbery Larmet has committed. He was first sentenced to six years in prison for robbery in 1970.

“The protection of the public in this case should be the paramount concern for this court,” said Savoie, adding that Larmet has clearly not gotten the message over the years even though he’s at times received double-digit prison terms for robbery sprees, including 15 years in 1994 and 18 years in 2003.

“Mr. Larmet is a career criminal,” the prosecutor said.

Dubé didn’t dispute that but said the offender’s age has to be taken into account.

“I don’t know a lot of people that reach their early 90s when they’re incarcerated,” he said. “It would be cruel and unusual to give Mr. Larmet such a high sentence and remove all hope that one day he could be released from that institution.”

The prolific robber took the opportunity to address the court and spoke at length.

“I’m not asking for sympathy,” he said, “but I’m looking for a measure of understanding.”

He said he had an abusive childhood and has spent 44 years of his adult life in prison. He said he’s been shot, stabbed, beaten and abused in a variety of ways in his life.

“The system spent my whole life turning me into what you see before you today,” Larmet said. “I’m an extremely dysfunctional, institutionalized individual.”

During his address to the court, the robber took out a selection of poems and read three before passing them to the judge to consider with the rest of the case file.

Judge Paul Duffie said he had a lot to consider and adjourned the sentence to Aug. 29, apologizing to Larmet for the delay.

“I’m not going anywhere,” the offender said from the prisoner’s box.

Lavoie told the court in February that the RCMP received multiple calls from OMISTA employees shortly after 10 a.m. on June 12, saying they had been robbed by a gunman. Court heard a masked man entered the credit union, took out a revolver and then went to four different tellers demanding cash. She said Larmet pushed one customer during the encounter, though the defence lawyer said that only happened after the client bumped the robber.

Larmet left the bank with $20,755.79, including several bills that had been previously photocopied at the credit union so that the institution could give police the serial numbers.

Lavoie said over the next few days, RCMP Const. Chris Fader retrieved video surveillance from locations on Cornhill, Dominion and Park Streets and was able to track a suspect going from the bank to a nearby apartment building on Cornhill Street. The investigation narrowed to Larmet and they kept him under surveillance, finally arresting him on June 20.

He admitted robbing the bank and told Fader the gun and some of the cash would be found in his apartment. A search turned up the gun, along with $7,500.

There was also an e-bike that had been purchased for more than $4,000 and a crossbow bought for $1,200. The Crown is seeking the forfeiture of the the gun and crossbow and an order to have the money and the bike turned over to the bank.

Police also seized clothing worn by the robber and among the recovered cash were some of the bank notes that had been photocopied, which verified the money came from OMISTA.