A man originally charged with the armed robbery of wedding guests at a North Vancouver hotel has been handed a sentence of six months already served in jail after pleading guilty to a less serious charge of possessing prohibited ammunition.
Judge William Rodgers of the North Vancouver provincial court handed the sentence to Liban Mohammed Hussein Robleh, 26, who had been in custody since his arrest April 13.
Robleh was sentenced after pleading guilty to possession of a magazine holding 10 rounds of ammunition for a Glock pistol. Police found the gun and ammunition with Robleh's DNA on them in Robleh's bedroom when they exercised a warrant to search his North Vancouver apartment.
Robleh was originally facing trial on a number of more serious charges - including armed robbery, threatening, possession of a prohibited firearm and assault causing bodily harm - connected to a violent armed robbery that allegedly took place at North Vancouver's Holiday Inn, April 12.
An Edmonton couple in North Vancouver to attend a wedding that weekend called police to say they had been robbed at gunpoint inside their hotel room.
The couple, both in their 20s, told police at the time they were back in their room following the wedding on Friday when a man they didn't know - who introduced himself as a friend of a friend - knocked on their door.
The couple told police when they opened it, three men burst into the room - one of them brandishing a pistol - and demanded they hand over valuables.
The pair said at the time one of the men also pistol-whipped the male hotel guest by hitting him over the head with the gun during the robbery.
Police were able to get a search warrant after some social media sleuthing led them to a possible suspect.
Prosecutor Lindsay Heron was forced to drop charges connected to the alleged robbery, however, after the victims in the case refused to co-operate.
The couple, who live in Edmonton, "did not really want to co-operate any further," said Heron outside of court. "There was no evidence to prove the other charges without them. They're the ones who called police."
Heron and Robleh's lawyer Matthew Nathanson gave a joint submission to the judge recommending a sentence of time served.
Nathanson said the time in jail has given his client "significant time to reflect on the impact his choices have had. The impact of these offences and the consequences are not lost on him."
Robleh, who is originally from Edmonton, moved to the Lower Mainland two years ago.
Rodgers ordered the gun police seized from a box in the Robleh's bedroom - a 10 mm Glock pistol - be forfeited and issued Robleh a lifetime firearms ban.
Robleh has a previous conviction for sexual assault with a weapon in 2009.
