Joshua Bellesen sentenced to six years, seven years supervision for knife robbery at FreshCo
Chilliwack courts (Photo: John Deacon Q.C.)
CHILLIWACK, B.C. — A British Columbia judge has designated a 49-year-old Indigenous man a long-term offender and sentenced him to six years in prison for a 2023 grocery store robbery in Chilliwack.
Joshua James Bellesen, a member of the Blood Tribe also known as the Kainai Nation, entered a guilty plea after walking into a FreshCo grocery store on June 27, 2023, and brandishing a large kitchen knife while demanding money from a cashier. He told the cashier his name and that he was not there to hurt anyone. The interaction lasted about 30 seconds, and he left without obtaining any money. He was arrested shortly afterward.
Bellesen, who was 46 at the time of the offence, has a lengthy criminal record including 65 prior convictions. He has spent much of the past 27 years in federal custody, and the court heard he has become institutionalized, committing offences at times in order to return to jail.
In her September 15, 2026 decision, Judge M.A. Fortino found Bellesen met the criteria for a long-term offender designation under section 753.1 of the Criminal Code, accepting that he presents a substantial risk of reoffending but that there is a reasonable possibility the risk can eventually be controlled in the community.
The court heard Bellesen is a survivor of the Sixties Scoop, adopted by a white family as an infant and raised without knowledge of his Indigenous identity. He was diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder as a teenager and ADHD while incarcerated. A forensic psychiatrist testified that Bellesen presents a high risk of reoffending but is capable of change with close supervision, counselling, and an integrated case management approach.
Bellesen was sentenced to six years less credit for time served, and will be subject to a seven-year long-term supervision order following his release.
