A Fort Hope man has been found guilty in a 2018 robbery in a Tim Horton’s parking lot on Memorial Avenue.
Judge Tracey Nieckarz found Myles Wabano guilty of robbery and assault with a weapon, but not guilty of threatening death or bodily harm.
Police at the time said a 40-year-old woman required medical attention after a man approached her vehicle, opened the door, stabbed her arm and took her purse. Police went on to say a second woman in the vehicle got out of the car and confronted the man which led to an altercation and getting her friend’s purse back.
The two women were drinking coffee in a vehicle when the man opened the door and asked them “what have you got”. The woman in the driver seat told him to “take it.” They testified that the man appeared out of it and “like he was coming out of a trance.”
The friend of the woman who had her purse snatched chased the suspect down, confronted him, pushed him into the ground as she was taking back the purse. During this altercation, she also grabbed a tablet that she thought was her friends, but upon realizing it wasn’t hers she smashed it on the ground and gave it back to the accused. The accused was later found on security footage at the Super 8 Motel to be carrying a tablet.
Other evidence in the case involved Facebook messenger messages that had Wabano admitting he robbed “two women near the Tims.” The judge also said the messages revealed information about the case that hadn’t been made public like the fact that the fight ended up on the sidewalk.
The defence lawyer had argued that Wabano wasn’t responsible for the crime and that his acquaintance was responsible for the incident.
Wabano was 22-years-old at the time of the incident. His next court date is set for February 24th to set a date for sentencing.
