Woman gets time served for accessory to murder
Manslaughter suspect Lori Ann Heavenfire pleaded guilty Monday to being an accessory to a fatal shooting in which the Crown can’t identify the perpetrator.
Reading from a statement of agreed facts, Crown prosecutor Kyra Kondro said the May 15, 2016, killing of Calgarian Tyler Sanderson remains a mystery.
“The Crown is unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt who shot Mr. Sanderson, however it’s the Crown’s position the accused was not the shooter,” Kondro told Court of Queen’s Bench Associate Chief Justice John Rooke.
Kondro said Heavenfire was driving a vehicle in which Sanderson was picked up and driven to a location in northeast Calgary.
“Mr. Sanderson was shot by a firearm while he sat in the back of the accused’s vehicle,” she said.
Kondro said after the shooting Heavenfire took steps to conceal her vehicle after fleeing the scene, leaving Sanderson behind.
She instructed another male to drive it back to her residence at the Tsuut’ina Nation and cover it under a tarp.
Rooke accepted a joint submission for a 12-month sentence proposed by Kondro and defence counsel Kim Arial.
He noted Heavenfire spent the equivalent of 29 months in pretrial custody, meaning she has already served more than her full sentence.
Rooke said it was important to punish Heavenfire, 36, for trying to cover up someone else’s crime.
“We expect citizens not to hide evidence ... and that is what was done in this case,” he said.
A second individual, who like Heavenfire was originally charged with murder, Justin Scott, received a 15-month term as an accessory.