A Yukon woman will spend three years in a federal penitentiary for her involvement in a robbery at the Stratford Motel in October.

Last Friday, Janine Firth pleaded guilty to robbery, being unlawfully in a house, assault with a weapon and forcible confinement.

Crown prosecutor Joanna Phillips told the Star today the early guilty plea – Firth was charged on Dec. 1 – allowed for a sentence in the low end of the range.

Robbery charges in the Yukon have a range of three to five years’ incarceration, she said.

An agreed statement of facts filed in Yukon territorial court shed some light on what happened that day.

At 5:46 p.m. Oct. 20, the RCMP received a call about a robbery at room 44 at the Stratford Inn, also known as the Stratford Motel.

Police found two men outside the Fourth Avenue establishment: Jim Flemming and Donald Lajoie.

Their faces were red because of bear spray exposure.

Lajoie told police he had been robbed by a man and a woman, later identified by RCMP members on video surveillance as Shannon Stein and Janine Firth.

Firth had bear spray.

Lajoie called his friend Flemming, who managed to push his way in the room, grab Stein and throw him into the parking lot.

Flemming told police he had seen Firth hitting his friend, and had intervened.

He managed to pull off the bandana from her face and recognized her.

Lajoie also told police he had recognized Firth as someone he had met less than a month previously.

Firth sprayed Flemming in both eyes, and he let her go.

Firth and the male fled, leaving behind a mitten, a black backpack, bear spray, a hat and sunglasses.

The hat and the sunglasses were sent in for DNA analysis.

Lajoie’s glasses were broken in the scuffle, costing him $425.

A third witness told police she recognized Firth.

Several RCMP officers identified Firth and Stein on surveillance video.

Stein has not yet entered a plea to the charges against him, according to publicly available court documents.

Police arrested Firth on Oct. 30 when they were called to a disturbance at the Chilkoot Trail Inn on Fourth Avenue.

They obtained a search warrant for the room and recovered bear spray and items of clothing matching the ones seen in the video surveillance.

Concurrent to the three years for robbery, Judge Peter Chisholm sentenced Firth to one year for assaulting Flemming with a weapon; nine month for seizing Lajoie; and nine months for illegally entering Lajoie’s room.

Firth also received an $800 victim fine surcharge.

The fine will be paid forthwith, meaning it’s included as part of the prison sentence instead of having it paid in cash.

Chisholm also gave Firth a lifetime firearm ban.

A charge of assault on Lajoie and and a charge of carrying a weapon were dropped.