Admitted killers to face sentencing next month

Lawyers for two confessed killers will make sentencing arguments next month after their clients pleaded guilty to reduced charges last November.

Defence counsel Jim Lutz and a law student representing lawyer Karen Molle on Friday, set Feb. 7 as the dated for submissions on behalf of their clients.

On Nov. 8, with a jury sitting outside court awaiting to hear evidence, Jerry Cody Goodeagle and Dyson White entered guilty pleas.

Goodeagle pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, while White admitted to a charge of manslaughter in connection with the Sept. 30, 2015, shooting death of Calgarian Jonathan Joe Schmeikal.

Both men were about to stand trial on charges of first-degree murder.

Schmeikal, 34, was found in the 2600 block of 43rd Street S.E.

Police said at the time they believed at least two people drove Schmeikal around in a stolen vehicle before they killed him.

While the killers have entered guilty pleas, Crown prosecutor Ken McCaffrey has yet to put facts before the court to support their admissions.

Eight days after the pleas were entered, Justice Rosemary Nation heard victim impact statements from relatives of the dead man.

Schmeikal’s parents and brother, both in court and following the proceeding, talked about how mental health issues led the deceased down a tragic track.

Brother Patrick Schmeikal said the deceased, 34, had problems, which led him to turn to drugs to deal with his demons.

It was that decision which led him to cross paths with Goodeagle and White, he said.

“There’s a huge problem with mental issues and the way it’s treated in this city,” Patrick Schmeikal said outside court, minutes after he and other family members presented their court statements.

“What people do is they turn to drugs, because it’s self-medicating,” the sibling said.

“Systems aren’t in place to properly treat people who are struggling, and this is just another great example of someone who just slipped through the cracks.”