Law-abiding Nanaimo woman turns to violent robberies to fuel drug habit
NANAIMO — Struggling with anxiety and depression brought on by personal tragedy, 50-year-old Caroline Green tried crack cocaine for the first time. Two months later the woman with no prior criminal history robbed a pair of Nanaimo convenience stores at knifepoint.
The unusual and stunning case was laid out at a sentencing hearing in Provincial Court in Nanaimo Friday. Green previously pleaded guilty to a pair of back-to-back armed robberies in September 2016.
Crown prosecutor Frank Dubenski outlined how Green used a large knife in robberies at the Fairview Store on Second St. and the Super Save Gas on Wakesiah Ave.
There were no serious injuries, but Court heard staff from both longtime family-run businesses were left traumatized.