A pair of young men involved in a violent 48-hour rampage in Belleville that included the stabbing of a convenience store owner in 2019 have been given a nine-year sentence.

At the Quinte Consolidated Courthouse on Wednesday, Kyle Arsenault, 21 of Belleville and Jordan Earle, 20 of Montoc were sentenced after pleading guilty to one count each of aggravated assault, arson and robbery along with two counts of break and enter.  Arsenault entered guilty pleas possession of a prohibited weapon, assaulting a police officer and mischief under $5,000 while Earle pleaded guilty to theft of a motor vehicle.

The Crown withdrew several other charges including attempted murder.  Hastings County Crown attorney Lee Burgess said the men went to the store to rob it and there was no evidence to prove they did not have any prior intention of murdering anyone.  Burgess and the defense counsel agreed on a joint submission of nine years on all charges less credit for 42 months 'as a result of the unusual circumstances of their pretrial custody during the pandemic.'  Arsenault and Earle will now spend another five and a half years in a federal penitentiary.  

Burgess said their crimes were 'senseless, sad and sent shock waves through the community.'

Had it not been for witnesses who scared the pair off and the prompt attention by emergency responders, 'this easily could have been store owner Jason Ro's demise,' Burgess said.

"We are very thankful that he is here today but that is not for anything the accused did," he added. 

Facts entered into the court detailed days of criminal activity.  Arsenault and Earle drove to Ro’s Convenience Store on Oct. 16 intending to rob it.  Earle entered the store with his face covered and armed with a can of bear spray.  He sprayed Ro with the bear spray.  Ro grabbed a golf club and chased Earle out of the store.  Once outside a confrontation ensued.  At one point, Ro struck Earle in the ear with the golf club.  Arsenault and Earle got the golf club from Ro and knocked him to the ground.  Arsenault hit Ro with the club multiple times and Earle proceeded to stab the store owner with a knife.  Two witnesses yelled at the pair and they fled the scene.  Ro was rushed to Kingston General Hospital where he underwent surgeries for multiple stab mounds and factual fractures.  He lost sight in his left eye and feeling in his left hand as a result of the attack.

A subsequent investigation led to Arsenault's arrest in Belleville while Earle was picked up by the RCMP at a train station in Moncton.  Burgess and Mew voiced “profound gratitude for the professionalism” of the Belleville Police Service, naming Det. Sgt. Ian Jarvis for his lead role in the investigation.

Arsenault's cellphone was seized during a police search that revealed the pair had been involved in a myriad of crimes before and after the brutal attack.

The two were linked to a break and enter of a cottage and garage fire in Belleville in the hours leading up to the assault.  By lunchtime the next day, the pair had broken into another home in the City and stole a safe containing identification, electronics and jewelry.  That night Earle stole a vehicle at the Quinte Curling Club.  Two days later Arsenault damaged a parked car at a local motel.

In handing down his verdict Superior Court Judge Graeme Mew said he accepted their guilty pleas and admissions of remorse as genuine.  He gave the men credit for saving their victims 'the torment of having to face them' at trial and recount the 'horrible details of the 24-48 hour rampage.'  However, the judge questioned if 'they had been able to put themselves in the shoes of their victims.'  

"How would you feel when along with everyone else in this courtroom you looked at the scarred and battered body of Mr. Ro?" Mew asked.  "How do you think he feels each morning when he wakes up and can only see with one of his two eyes?  I want you to think about these things in the months and years that follow."

"I was a simple man who was just doing my job and now I have to watch anyone who comes into the store out of fear," Mew read from Ro's victim impact statement.  

Another man whose cottage was broken into and his garage set on fire by the pair wrote how his wife no longer feels safe to go there alone.  They experienced $50,000 of uninsured loss and they have security cameras that they never needed before.

Mew said he wanted the pair's sentence to send a strong message of denunciation for what they have done.

He said aggravating factors included not only 'the utter lawlessness' of the crimes that occurred but the contempt and sense of triumph shown in videos seized of them bragging of their 'horrible crimes.'  

When asked if he wanted to speak Earle only thanked the court for its time.  

Arsenault spoke directly to Ro who was in attendance via Zoom.

"I'm sorry," a visibly shaken Arsenault said.  "I'm sorry for everything you sustained.  I hope you don't hate me.  I hope you don't hate my co-defendant.  I hope you forgive me at least knowing I have remorse for what I have done."

Mew issued a DNA databank order, 10-year weapons prohibition order, forfeiture of items seized and a non-communication order with the victims in the case.