Man who fired into crowd outside pub gets 10-year-term for manslaughter

A man who fired two shots into a crowd outside an Edmonton pub, killing a bystander, was handed a 10-year sentence for manslaughter Thursday.

Winston Stanley Dickson Thom pleaded guilty to the June 1, 2017, shooting death of Justin Nicholas Allen, 28.

According to an agreed statement of facts entered with the court, Dickson Thom, 31, was drinking with friends at Playback Pub in northeast Edmonton when he had an altercation with some people in the bar.

Angry, he left and acquired a gun from people who drove to the area near the pub. While standing at a Fas Gas convenience store across a parking lot, he fired.

A video compilation of different security footage filed with the court pieces together the events. Allen is seen walking out the door of the pub, then small flashes of gunfire in one view are followed by a group of people rushing to safety inside the bar. In another frame, Dickson Thom walks away with a gun, along with another man who was also charged, but has yet to go to trial.

A bouncer began doing CPR on Allen. He was rushed to hospital, but died from his injuries.

The last conversation Cheryl DePaulo had with the love of her life lasted about 15 minutes.

She was in Winnipeg, preparing for a move to Edmonton where she and Allen had plans to live with their five-year-old daughter and their baby, who was expected in August 2017.

Reading a victim-impact statement in court Thursday, DePaulo recalled their last phone conversation. She was tired and told him to go out and have a good night. He told her he loved her. Hours later, he was gone. “My happily-ever-after was taken from me,” DePaulo said.

For hours Thursday, family members and friends spoke in court about how Allen’s death devastated their lives. Multiple photo albums and even a slide show of memories were filed with the court.

Crown prosecutor Karen Hewitt told court Allen was in the “wrong place at the wrong time,” a victim of his killer’s “wilful blindness,” but submitted a joint sentencing recommendation with defence lawyer Ajay Juneja, who spoke about his client’s “extreme remorse.”

“I didn’t mean to do anything to hurt him.

“I didn’t even know the man,” Dickson Thom said, apologizing to Allen’s family.

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Vital Ouellette commented on the random, reckless nature of the offence.

“Nothing good will come of shooting into a crowd. Someone will likely die. And someone did.”

With credit for time already served, Dickson Thom has eight years and 10 months left in his sentence.