Pubdate: Fri, 20 Apr 2007
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2007 Times Colonist
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
Author: Richard Watts, Times Colonist

VIGILANTE HANDED COMMUNITY SERVICE

A man who helped stage a home-invasion armed robbery in a vigilante 
effort to frighten a cocaine dealer was handed a community sentence yesterday.

Randal David Fox, 36, was sentenced to two years less a day and 
allowed to serve it in the community with a curfew, after pleading 
guilty to break and enter to commit robbery and wearing a mask while 
committing an offence.

Testimony last month at the sentencing of his accomplice revealed 
Fox, 36, was one of two men who donned ski masks and burst into the 
apartment home of an admitted cocaine dealer at 804 Esquimalt Rd.

As part of a plan to convince the cocaine dealer to stop selling to 
young people, Fox carried a role of duct tape while his masked 
partner had a sawed-off shotgun, which court heard was unloaded.

The two demanded money and drugs and received about $200 and about 40 
grams of cocaine, worth about $3,200 to the dealer.

Police arrested the two men a short while after the robbery, 
recovering the drugs, money, masks and gun.

Fox's accomplice, Rick Zarelli, 47, of Saanich, pleaded guilty last 
month and was also handed a community sentence of two years less a day.

Provincial court Judge Robert Higinbotham said Fox and Zarelli were 
equally involved and deserve the same sentence.

"It was clear you were both working together," said Higinbotham.

The judge did, however, assign Fox only 65 hours of community-service 
work. Zarelli was assigned 100 hours.
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