November sentencing hearing set for woman found guilty of robbery, threats
By Delon Shurtz on October 6, 2021.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com A former Lethbridge woman who robbed a friend, then threatened to kill him if he told police, is going to jail. She just doesn’t know for how long.The Crown wants Chelsey Marie Beringer sent to jail for a year, but her lawyer believes she should be able to serve a 90-day sentence on weekends and be subject to a two-year probation order.
Beringer won’t know her fate until November when Judge Jerry LeGrandeur is scheduled to give his decision.
Crown Prosecutor Sheena Campbell recommended the 12-month sentence during a sentencing hearing last week in Lethbridge provincial court, and told the judge Beringer planned the robbery, lured her victim on false pretenses and assaulted him before she and her boyfriend fled.
Beringer pleaded guilty in June to charges of armed robbery and uttering threats, stemming from an incident on the morning of May 7, 2020, when she called the man and asked him to come to Coaldale. He said he was too drunk, but after he messaged Beringer later in the day, she offered him sex for $400.
The friend said he only had $200, but the two agreed to meet, with one condition: Beringer was not to bring her boyfriend.
At about 11 p.m. the man pulled into the parking lot of Tim Horton’s in Coaldale, and Beringer got into his car.
As he drove away, Beringer told him to stop because she had arranged to sell some weed. A tall man wearing a hospital mask and carrying a kitchen knife walked up to the car and climbed into the back seat, then held the knife to the driver’s neck.
Beringer demanded the $200, and the masked man — Beringer’s boyfriend — repeated the demand and threatened to cut the victim.
The three went to a bank where the victim withdrew the money from the ATM, and the masked man handed it to Beringer before they returned to Tim Hortons. Beringer kicked the man, stole his cellphone and threatened to kill him if he called the police. The masked assailant, whose matter is still before the court, also threatened to kill him.
The two robbers fled on foot and the victim called police, who reviewed bank video surveillance footage.
At one point the male robber uncovered his face and looked directly at the camera. Both suspects were arrested within a day of the robbery.
“I would suggest to the court that this is not a situation of Miss Beringer being in the wrong place at the wrong time, as she seems to suggest to probation,” Campbell told court.
“This is clearly a planned and deliberate act that her and her co-accused had made and is the result of the joint action of those two individuals.”
Lethbridge lawyer Darcy Shurtz pointed out his client, who was barely 22 years old at the time, does not have a criminal record and is truly remorseful for her actions. He said Beringer had a troubled childhood and faced many challenges growing up, including parents who struggled with alcohol addiction.
She was involved in a number of “extremely” abusive relationships, which led her down the road to her own addictions to alcohol and drugs, which ultimately led to the robbery.
Shurtz explained Beringer’s comments about being in the wrong place at the wrong time simply means she was at a bad place at that time in her life.
“Since this time she has done everything she can to turn her life around.”
Beringer moved to Saskatchewan to get away from the bad influences in her life, and has family support from her boyfriend and his father. She also completed an addictions treatment program and has been sober for eight months.
Her “father-in-law” told court Beringer acknowledge’s her crime, but has “demonstrated her willingness to change her life.” He said she is an incredible mother to her young daughter and has been a model citizen.
The matter is scheduled to return to court Nov. 4 for the judge’s decision. Follow @DShurtzHerald on Twitter 4
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