ST. ALBERT, Alta – A former St. Albert pawn shop owner who served 10 years for severing a man’s ear with an axe during a robbery in Edmonton in 2010 has had his release conditions changed, according to parole documents obtained by The Gazette.
Kenneth Campbell, then 59, was found guilty of aggravated assault, robbery, and possession of a weapon dangerous to the public in March 2013 after a three-day trial. Campbell, who was sentenced in November of 2014 to 10 years in prison, had his release conditions changed in December 2021, which will see him move out of a halfway house and into the community, parole documents said.
The specific community Campbell will be living in has not been disclosed due to privacy reasons, nor has the location where he was incarcerated or living in a halfway house.
At the time of the attack, Campbell was on medical leave from his work as a heavy equipment operator in St. Albert. For many years Campbell had operated the city’s only pawnshop, St. Albert Loans and Exchange. In 2004, police raided the store and found several items of stolen property. He was granted a conditional discharge.
The 2013 charges stemmed from a March 1, 2010, incident whereby Campbell assaulted 78-year-old David Woolfson with an axe, nearly amputating his ear, court heard in 2013. At the time Woolfson was the owner of A1 Trading Pawnshop in Edmonton.
The day of the attack Campbell visited the store twice. The first time, he selected an axe from a display case and placed it on the counter, saying he was going to buy it. He left the store without the axe, court heard.
Campbell came back that afternoon and again put the axe on the counter. He then offered to help Woolfson close up shop by wheeling inside several bicycles displayed on the sidewalk.
While Woolfson had his back turned, Campbell hit him in the back of the head with the hatchet, nearly severing his ear, court heard.
Crown prosecutor Avril Inglis said in 2013 Campbell “left him for dead.”
“He was sprawled out on the floor behind the counter in his own blood,” she said of Woolfson, who was found by three customers who came in after the closed sign was up.
Woolfson’s ear was reattached later that day with 68 stitches.
Before leaving, Campbell also stole an estimated $50,000 in jewelry and cash.
The now 67-year-old served his sentence in a federal prison until May 2017, when he was granted day parole, during which he was arrested for shoplifting at a grocery store, resulting in a conviction of theft under $5,000. Campbell’s day parole was then revoked as a result.
In April 2020, Campbell was granted day parole with special conditions to report his finances, avoid victims, and not to gamble.
“Due to your age and health conditions, you will not be obtaining work,” the parole board said in its decision.
Campbell is currently in a wheelchair with health complications.
The parole board said Campbell’s offence cycle is linked to financial strain and gambling issues, which means as part of his release he is not allowed to gamble, enter into any gambling establishments, and must provide documented financial information to his parole supervisor.
“As finance issues and gambling are directly linked to your diverse criminal offending, the management of your finances must be monitored to ensure public safely," the parole board decision read.
Campbell must not have contact with the victim of the 2010 incident, as he caused permanent physical and psychological injuries. Campbell will also need to attend psychological counselling.
In his victim impact statement, which was read in court in 2013, Woolfson said he sold his business of 17 years shortly after the attack because, "I just wanted out."
At the time Woolfson said he still experienced memory loss and used a hearing aid. He also suffered from depression.
"I seem to be completely lost and living without purpose," his statement said.
In an interview after the sentencing in 2013, Woolfson said Campbell got what he deserved.
"I feel sorry for him. He's not in the prime of his life, he has a family and he's going to be put away for 10 years," he said of Campbell. "But he got what he deserved because ... this was premeditated. There was nothing casual about this assault. He knew what he was doing.
“This was the worst thing that has ever happened to me.”
Court of Queen's Bench Justice David Gates described the attack as "brutal and cold-blooded.”
He noted the “cunning and sly” nature of the attack as Campbell had been “casing the joint” since he pawned a generator at the store a week prior.
In 2009, Campbell also pleaded guilty to fraud in relation to an online auction site he ran. Several people claimed they put their goods up for sale on the site and never received payment after they were sold. Campbell received a six-month jail term in that case.