ROBBER'S JAIL TIME CUT FOR DRUG-REHAB EFFORT

A former McDonald's employee-turned-druggie, who threatened the staff
with what he said was an AIDS-infected syringe during robberies, has
had two years shaved off his sentence for kicking his addiction.

The B.C. Court of Appeal reduced Johnny Furness's seven-year sentence
to five years for the spree of robberies because of the "unusual"
efforts he made to get off drugs while awaiting sentencing.

"Considering the positive rehabilitative promise as shown by the
unusual initiative of the appellant, in my view, the sentence is
excessive," wrote Justice Edward Chiasson.

Furness pleaded guilty -- against his lawyer's advice -- to 11 counts
of robbery of fast-food restaurants, liquor stores and a Safeway.

The trial judge noted he was aided by his knowledge as a former
McDonald's and liquor-store employee and would enter just before
closing. In each case, he used or threatened to use a weapon but did
not commit violence.

The trial judge noted Furness wasn't one of the worst offenders, in
part because he completed a program called Breaking Barriers and
other courses -- "not the usual situation for someone awaiting
disposition at a pre-trial centre" -- but sentenced him at the high
end for similar offences, noted Chiasson.

Furness, who was in his mid-20s and had been addicted at 19, was
clean and sober for the first time as an adult, Chiasson noted.

He "continues to make some headway dealing with his addiction problem
and his efforts should be encouraged as being the best means of
protecting the public," Chiasson wrote.