Manslaughter
R. v. D.V.S.
A publication ban applies. The offender is not named.
Sentence and the Crown's position
What the law allows
The offender pleaded guilty to manslaughter by unlawful act for his role in a December 2018 shooting death in Williams Lake, where he carried a shotgun into the victim's home and a co-accused shot the victim. The Crown and defence jointly proposed six years in prison. Justice Beames accepted the joint submission, finding it was not contrary to the public interest given the offender's peripheral role, his youth, his Gladue circumstances, his guilty plea and his remorse, and imposed six years less 1,287 days of credit for pre-sentence custody.
In the judge's words
1I am convinced, on the submissions of counsel, that this is not a case where the public interest test would justify departing from the joint submissions. That is to say that the sentence jointly proposed by Crown and defence is not one that would bring the administration of justice into disrepute, nor is it otherwise contrary to public interest.
The record
- Convicted of
- Manslaughter (CC 236)
- Prior convictions
- Not recorded
- At the time of the offence
- Not stated1
- Defence asked for
- 6 years in custody1
- Appeal
- Not yet checked
- Counsel
- Crown: D.Y.D. Sim
Defence: S.R.A. Buck
Sources
- R. v. D.V.S., 2022 BCSC 2199 Court decision, CanLII, November 30, 2022
[22] The Crown and defence have made a joint submission in this case, namely that Mr. … should receive a sentence of six years in prison, plus some additional terms.
[22] The Crown and defence have made a joint submission in this case, namely that Mr. … should receive a sentence of six years in prison, plus some additional terms.
[28] … I am convinced, on the submissions of counsel, that this is not a case where the public interest test would justify departing from the joint submissions. That is to say that the sentence jointly proposed by Crown and defence is not one that would bring the administration of justice into disrepute, nor is it otherwise contrary to public interest.
[30] Mr. …, I accept, under all of the circumstances, the joint sentencing submission, and I sentence you to six years. You are entitled to credit, against that sentence, for time served. As I indicated at the beginning of this afternoon's session, I have made a calculation, and I find that your dead time, that is the time you have spent in custody to date, is 858 days, and at time and a half you are therefore entitled to 1,287 days of credit.
- R. v. D.V.S., 2022 BCSC 2199 Court decision, Courts of British Columbia