A man in prison for a violent New Westminster home invasion in 2016 has been granted leave to appeal how his sentence was calculated.
Stephen Smith was sentenced to 10 years in prison following the robbery and attack of a 65-year-old Queen’s Park widower on July 6, 2016.
He received the sentence for breaking and entering, robbery, aggravated assault, unlawful confinement, possession of stolen property and attempted fraud, according to court documents.
In an appeal, Smith argued his sentence was “demonstrably unfit and disproportionate” given his age and circumstances, and in light of other sentences in similar cases, according to the documents.
He was 21 years old when the crimes occurred.
The B.C. Court of Appeal found the sentencing judge, Justice J. Christopher Grauer, did not err when handing down his sentence.
However, Smith was granted the right to appeal how his time served in pre-sentence custody was calculated into his sentence, according to the judgement.
“The judge gave credit for three years and eight months for time spent in custody. The Crown concedes that the appellant was actually entitled to a credit of three years, nine months and 24 days,” the March 6 ruling stated.
The widower suffered numerous injuries in the attack and robbery, including the loss of hearing in one ear, according to the documents.
Smith and his cousin broke into the home of the widower and woke him up, the documents stated.
“One or both of them then savagely attacked him, assaulting him with a hammer and a knife,” according to court documents. “The attack was prolonged and left the victim with life-altering injuries. They then ransacked the house and robbed the victim.”
Smith’s co-accused, Victor James, who was 23 years old at the time, was sentenced to 10 years in jail for all the same crimes except attempted fraud.
