A member of a group of four individuals involved in a pair of home invasions in December 2013 pleaded guilty to a number of charges on Tuesday in Cranbrook Supreme Court.
Andrew Monnette changed his plea from not guilty to guilty on 10 charges—five in the first incident on Dec. 18, 2013 and five more on a separate incident eight days later.
Those charges will be stayed, while Monnette also pleaded guilty to a robbery charge from a third incident in April 2014, which will be knocked down to a lesser assault charge.
Monnette appeared by video from a facility in Kamloops. He has been in custody since April 2014.
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Monday, April 13, 2015.
The charges stem from incidents back in December 2013.
Three people wearing masks and carrying firearms forced their way into the home on Dec. 18 on 1st Avenue South, where there was an altercation with residents and the theft of electronic devices.
Then, on Boxing Day, another home invasion happened on 6th Street North in Cranbrook. Four people entered a residence carrying a long gun, a shot gun, an Uzi-style firearm, brass knuckles and a baton.
They demanded money and drugs, but stole several electronic devices.
Police served three search warrants at residences in Cranbrook and Kimberley, where the stolen property was located and identified. In one of the searches in Cranbrook, police recovered the firearms used in the home invasions—a shotgun and a uzi-style firearm that was actually a BB gun.
Terrance Allan and Megan Sands—two members involved in the home invasions—were earlier sentenced to eight years and five years, respectively, back in April 2014.
A fourth person involved—Jay Hills—was sentenced to three and a half years in May 2014.