A St. Albert man is looking at a possible 10 years in prison after he was convicted of attacking an Edmonton pawn shop owner.
Kenneth Angus Campbell was found guilty Wednesday in Court of Queen’s Bench in Edmonton of aggravated assault, robbery and a weapons charge, according to Edmonton media reports.
While there were no witnesses to the actual attack, and Woolfson could not remember what had happened, several witnesses placed Campbell in the Edmonton pawnshop on the date of the March 1, 2010 assault. Campbell, who was arrested that same day in St. Albert on an outstanding warrant, was also found in possession of a valuable coin that was linked to the pawn shop, as well as several pawn tickets from the same store.
In total, Campbell was found to have stolen almost $50,000 worth of jewelry from the store. Police had actually linked Campbell to the assault because he had pawned a generator in the days before the assault, an event Woolfson was able to recall.
Woolfson had told the court that Campbell started hanging out in his store on a daily basis. On the day of the assault, Woolfson was bringing items in from outside while closing his store. Campbell volunteered to help.
“And then I woke up in hospital,” Woolfson had testified. His right ear had been amputated in the attack. Doctors were able to re-attach it with 62 stitches.
Campbell has represented himself during the trial, which was heard by Justice David Gates without a jury. He frequently attended court in jeans and a dirty T-shirt.
The Crown is seeking as much as 10 years in prison. Campbell’s sentencing was put off until he finds a lawyer.
This is not Campbell’s first brush with the law. He once owned St. Albert’s only pawn shop, but was convicted in 2005 of purchasing property he knew to be stolen from a convicted crystal meth addict. He received a conditional discharge on the condition he not operate a business in St. Albert.
In 2005 and 2006 he violated that condition by setting up an online auction website where he defrauded several local residents of almost $5,000 by taking bids on several items on his website but never delivering them. He spent six months in jail as a result.
He has also spent time in jail on shoplifting charges in recent years. He was due in St. Albert Provincial Court Monday for sentencing on charges he failed to repay a single cent of $28,500 he defrauded another victim of. He did not appear, as his trial in Court of Queen’s Bench was ongoing, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
