Karlee Anne Pelletier, 28, faced several hurdles to receive treatment for mental health issues prior to pulling a fake gun on convenience store clerks in downtown Nanaimo last October. (File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

call for help

Nanaimo woman threatened store staff with toy gun in desperate bid to get arrested

Feb 15, 2023 | 5:18 AM

NANAIMO — Apparent deep service gaps facing a first-time offender with severe mental health challenges led to her pointing a fake gun at store clerks.

Karlee Anne Pelletier, 28, was released from custody on Tuesday, Feb. 14 after serving four months behind bars for the Oct. 13 2022 incident at the Mid-Island Co-op gas bar on Victoria Cres.

She pleaded guilty to uttering threats and theft under $5,000 after she used a plastic cap gun to make off with a small amount of cash during a brazen late morning heist.

While wearing a medical mask Pelletier threatened to kill two employees behind the counter. One of the workers, noticing the cheap gun’s orange tip had been coloured black, was convinced it was a prank.

The offender threatened to shoot the workers if they didn’t comply.

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With cash in hand Pelletier didn’t run away, but rather casually sat down on a curb outside the store, an agreed statement of facts revealed.

In under two minutes, police swarmed the parking lot.

The first RCMP officer to arrive noticed Pelletier was holding a weapon. She dropped it immediately as instructed with the plastic item hitting the pavement.

Pelletier was arrested and the money recovered.

She was known to officers on scene, court was told. The previous day Pelletier phoned in a false structure fire to Nanaimo RCMP, telling officers she’d burned down a Nicol St. building and had heard voices telling her to set things on fire.

Pelletier said the fake fire report was made in an effort to go to jail but she was not arrested.

A mental fitness assessment was ordered to determine if Pelletier was sound enough to stand trial for the gas bar incident.

The doctor determined Pelletier appreciated the gravity of her offences and had an understanding of the judicial process.

“Miss Pelletier is a good example of a mentally disordered individual who becomes criminalized due to deteriorating access to healthcare. She felt compelled to commit a crime to be in a safe place,” the doctor’s report stated.

Reports issued for the court to help guide the sentencing process showed Pelletier has struggled with mental health ailments for most of her life, including multiple tenures under hospital care.

Her mental health challenges include a diagnosis of schizophrenia and numerous suicide attempts, some extremely serious.

Pelletier stated voices ongoing for many years told her to harm herself and others. Alcohol was flagged as a key barrier impacting her mental health.

A psychologist believed Pelletier’s risk of future violence could be mitigated through treatment.

Defence lawyer Kendra Waugh said with her client’s audible hallucinations worsening, Pelletier was not properly cared for by local health providers.

“In the days leading up to these offences she had tried on numerous occasions to have herself committed to the hospital in Nanaimo and as well Duncan and had been turned down on all accounts.”

Waugh said Pelletier’s offence can only be properly categorized as a call for help.

“She never intended to scare anybody, she didn’t intended to hurt anybody. She was really just trying to get help.”

Pelletier did not seek bail, in fact she preferred to stay locked up at Alouette Correctional Centre for Women in Maple Ridge where she made positive steps toward recovery.

“Jail was a place that she sought solace and felt safe for the first time in a long time which in my submission is a terrible review for the status of our mental health supports as they currently exist,” a frustrated Waugh told court.

Judge Terence Wright settled on a conditional discharge for Pelletier and two years probation, meaning she won’t have a criminal record if numerous court-ordered restrictions are met.

Pelletier was ordered to stay away from Mid-Island Co-op gas bar on Victoria Cres. and the three employees in the store, not use unprescribed drugs and alcohol.

Various forms of counseling provisions were made for Pelletier during her probationary term, while a five year weapons ban was also imposed.

She was also ordered to take all medications as prescribed, which Pelletier signaled a willingness to do. Various forms of counseling provisions and mental health resources were also made for her to follow.

Pelletier declined to address the judge as her provincial court sentencing hearing in Nanaimo concluded.

The plight of people such as Pelletier and victims of crime have been the source of much debate in Nanaimo and around the province as offenders with mental health deficits impact many communities, particularly larger urban centres.

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes