WAYWARD HOME INVADERS JAILED

Two men on a "mission" to rob a marijuana grow operation mistakenly
raided the wrong home, putting a Kemptville couple watching television
through a horrifying ordeal on Labour Day weekend, a court heard Wednesday.

Jesse Barkley, 21, and Archie Trepanier, 27, were sentenced to seven
years in jail for their part in a home invasion on County Road 44 on
Sept. 4.

Ontario Superior Court Justice John Waugh said the pair would have got
more time in jail if they didn't plead guilty to the crime.

"For totally innocent people to be terrorized the way they were, an
11-year sentence would not have been out of the range if it went to
trial," the judge said.

They pleaded guilty to break and enter, theft, and unlawful
confinement in connection with the home invasion with five other
individuals including "one only known to police as the crazy Russian,"
said assistant Crown attorney Claudette Breault.

She said the group of men mistook the home for the site of a marijuana
grow operation they believed had huge amounts of marijuana and $50,000
cash.

"They referred to it as a mission," she said. They even surveyed the
residence the night before and met at a gas bar in Kemptville prior to
the invasion.

"The crazy Russian brought a duffle bag with a gun, a Taser, bear
mace, a bat and clothing" to disguise themselves, including bandanas
to cover their faces, said Breault.

Two of the suspects watched the property outside, she said, while five
of them, including Barkley and Trepanier, kicked in the door at about
10:30 p.m. while Craig Pollard and Jitka Tritik were watching television.

"The victims were in their home that night simply watching TV,"
Breault told court. The couple were tied up while the suspects
demanded money and drugs at knifepoint and gunpoint.

The group ransacked the home, stealing electronic equipment, Japanese
swords, jewelry, credit cards and other items.

"What they couldn't steal," they smashed," said Breault.

They threatened to shoot Pollard or slash his throat with a knife
numerous times, she told court. "They laughed about killing him with
his own knife."

When they finally realized it was not a drug dealers' grow operation,
they said: "We've got the wrong house," Breault told court. They told
the victims, "We won't come back. Get counselling and get a dog," as
they left the residence, she said, and then slashed the tires of all
the vehicles in the driveway.

The whole ordeal lasted 30 minutes and has caused both victims
nightmares and anxiety, Breault said. The damage and theft was
estimated at $35,000.

The home invasion was "easily one of the most traumatic events in my
life," Pollard said in his written victim impact statement admitted to
court before the sentencing.

"Since the offence happened I have developed anxiety, high stress
levels and am especially startled by noises," said Tritik in her
written victim impact statement.

Breault said the sentence for a crime of this kind would typically be
in the range of eight to 11 years, noting: "Home invasion is a serious
and increasingly prevalent crime in our society."

Trepanier, of Ottawa, wiped away tears and apologized after pleading
guilty to his part in the home invasion.

"Just that I'm sorry," he said when asked by the judge if he wanted to
say anything before sentencing.

Barkley also showed remorse by pleading guilty to the crime, said his
lawyer, Robert Barr.

"This plea is a response to his conscience and what he did," he told
court, adding that the intended victims of the home invasion were drug
dealers. "These people were not the targets."

Trepanier's lawyer, Kevin Murphy, also said his client's involvement
in the violent crime was mitigated by the fact that he came forward
and pleaded guilty.

"He's here today to take his punishment," he said.

Other co-accused arrested in connection with the home invasion are
still before the courts.