Two men who pleaded guilty to a number of charges following a series of robberies in Waterloo Region will spend four more years behind bars.
Leon George Cunningham, 22, of Kitchener, and 21-year-old Punchok Wangail of Waterloo pleaded guilty to multiple robbery-related charges in December.
On Wednesday, the judge sentenced both men to six years in prison, but they were each credited with two years for time already spent in custody.
Defence lawyer Hal Mattson says "They committed a horrible crime. People hate to see people, normal citizens, victimized. On the other hand people hate to see young citizens go to jail for a long time."
The two were charged in connection with a series of robberies including two at a Cashmax Payday Loans location in Kitchener, one at Ben Moss Jewellers in the Fairview Park Mall and one at Raffi Jewellers in the Conestoga Mall.
The smash-and-grab robberies involved the suspects wearing disguises and took place between December 2010 and January 2011.
Three suspects, including Cunningham and Wangail were arrested after the Cashmax location was targeted for a second time in late January 2011.
The incidents frightened store clerks and shoppers, as the thieves smashed display cases with a machete and sledgehammer and dispersed bear spray.
In fact, victim impact statements played a key part in the judge's decision.
The Crown read out loud how the workers at the jewelry stores and an employee at the Cashmax still felt high levels of anxiety and stress. One even indicated she no longer feels safe in her own home.
Given that information, Mattson believes the sentencing was fair, saying "The judge in this case had a very difficult decision to make."
Roughly $700,000 in jewelry was stolen during the crime spree, but none of it has been recovered.
The case of a third man accused in the robberies, Dhirmal Gohil, is likely to go to trial with a preliminary hearing beginning in May.
