By Michael Potestio, Kamloops This Week
An Oliver man accused of robbing a Kamloops gas station with his three-year-old toddler and using the child during an encounter with police as a human shield, has pleaded guilty to a number of charges.
Andrew Miller, 32, was in Kamloops provincial court on Aug. 25, when he entered guilty pleas on charges of robbery and using an imitation firearm for committing an indictable offence, according to court documents.
Miller had also been facing charges of uttering threats and willfully obstructing a police officer, but no indication of pleas on those counts are present online.
Miller, who remains in custody, has his next court date scheduled for Sept. 12 to fix a date for a sentencing hearing.
According to a press release issued by the RCMP, a Kamloops Mountie was conducting a traffic stop in the parking lot of the Super Save gas station on Westsyde Road at about 7 p.m. on May 19. At one point he was notified of an armed robbery that had just taken place at the same gas station.
“The suspect had allegedly entered the gas station holding the hand of his small child and, after walking around the store, approached the counter and demanded money,” the release stated. “During the course of the robbery, the suspect had pulled up his shirt, exposing the butt of what appeared to be a firearm.”
The officer had spotted the man and child leaving the gas station and found them nearby.
According to police, the situation became “deeply disturbing” when the man allegedly threatened the police officer and put the child between himself and the officer, using the toddler as a human shield.
“The man eventually released the child, who ran to a nearby family member,” the release stated.
“After a brief struggle, the man was taken into custody and found to be in possession of a replica firearm.”
