Family pleads leniency for son who beat father to death

The man who beat his father to death in a drunken rage should escape prison time, his lawyer and family members told court Wednesday.

And his lawyer argued Tristan Wesley’s difficult upbringing amid his First Nations background and his rehabilitation during bail should land him a suspended sentence and three years’ probation.

After drinking at the Stoney Nakoda Resort on July 1, 2015, Wesley got into a confrontation on the way home with his father, Myles McLean, 55, and ended up fatally beating him when they pulled their vehicle over on Highway 1 on the Morley Flats.

When his sister Chantelle intervened, she, too, was attacked. Wesley previously pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm for that incident.

While Crown prosecutor Ron Simenik called for a prison sentence of five to seven years for the to drive back to the resort manslaughter conviction, several to confront a staffer following a family members and friends told verbal exchange. court he should be spared time Defence lawyer Gavin Wolch behind bars. told Cochrane Provincial Court

“I was sad when this happened that Wesley’s problems can be but I blamed alcohol,” said Wesley’s traced to his father’s stint at an sister, Kathy. “Everything abusive residential school. changed after it happened, he’s “His father spent years at a residential showing positive things toward his school and suffered deeply,” family … our father told us to love said Wolch. no matter what we went through.” Wesley, he said, was too drunk to

She said the incident occurred recall the crime, with a blood-alcohol when McLean refused his son’s demand level as much as three times the legal driving limit. The 28-year-old Wesley has honoured his father’s memory by becoming sober and selflessly being “the man of the house” while on bail, said Wolch.

Wesley had originally been charged with second-degree murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter Wednesday.

Wesley remains on bail with Judge Ken McLeod expected to hand down a sentence Aug. 17.