Two-year sentence for role in death
Conditions will allow 17-year-old to keep making st rides: judge
A 17-year-old who pleaded guilty to man slaughter will spend another eight months in jail and then four months supervised in the community for his role in the November 2016 beating death of a 42-year-old Stewart Street man.
The boy, who can not be named by law, was sentenced Monday afternoon in Peter borough Ontario Court of Justice by Mad am Justice Esther Rosenberg.
The two-year sentence, which includes one-for-one credit for the approximately one year he has spent at Cob our g’ s Brook side Youth Centre, will be followed by one year of probation.
Terry Pringle was found dead of blunt force trauma just before 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 26, 2016. Six people, including two teenaged boys, were arrested three days later.
The 17-year-old was supposed to record the beating on his cellphone to prove it happened to the woman who arranged it over allegations that Pringle said she was dealing drugs. She was to pay the attackers in cocaine, court heard.
Monday’s sentence was much closer to what was sought by the defence.
When sentencing submissions were heard last Tuesday, defence lawyer Cydney Israel sought two years, less the time the boy has already spent in custody.
She asked for the same split of eight months in jail and four months of community supervision, while prosecutors sought a 70:30 or 50:50 ratio.
Overall, assistant Crown attorney Kelly Eberhard sought a three-year sentence, without credit for the boy’ s 350 days of pre-sentence custody.
In her decision, Rosenberg said the three-year maximum was “not appropriate” in the case, given that the then-16-year-old was not actually present for the fatal assault, for example. Court heard he was unable to enter a window to actually record the beating.
The fact that the act was planned and deliberate, the seriousness of the offence and the “devastating” impact on the victims were cited by the judge as aggravating factors in the case.
Pringle’s mother, Bev Kingston, provided a victim impact statement in which she wrote about how she has an empty place in her heart and pointed out that once the boy gets out of jail, his mother will once again be able to hold him.
“I’ll never be able to hold Terry again,” she wrote.
The boy’s September guilty plea, the lesser role he played, there morse he has shown for his involvement, his lack of a criminal record as well as personal background and circumstances were each cited as mitigating factors.
The judge also pointed out the extensive family support for the boy and the “very positive” attitude he has shown towards rehabilitation as other such factors.
The judge drew from a pre-sentence report, an investigation into one’ s history, and a Section 34, a separate psychological report written by a social worker, in meting out the sentence.
Apyc ho log i st wrote that the boy is a “bright youth” willing to take part in any activities and programming that will positively impact his life, said Rosenberg, who called the sentence one that will allow the boy to continue to make strides.
As part of the sentence, the boy must also attend or continue to attend any counselling or rehabilitation programs as directed by his youth worker.
He was also ordered to submit a sample of his DNA, not to contact his co-accused or members of P ring le’ s family and given a lifetime weapons prohibition.
Near the end of the proceedings, the judge made sure the boy understood the potential consequences of breaking any of the terms or conditions of his sentence, including how he could spent the balance of the supervised portion of his sentence in custody.
“We want to continue to see the kind of progress we’ve been seeing,” said the judge, who then also endorsed a defence request to recommend that the boy spent the balance of his time in custody at Brookside.
Samantha Hall, who orchestra ted the assault, was sentenced last Tuesday to 26 months in prison for conspiracy to commit an indictable offence causing bodily harm.
Christopher Bolton, 30, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit assault causing bodily harm Oct .23 and is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday.
A preliminary hearing, which determines if there is sufficient evidence to set the matter down for trial before a Superior Court judge, is scheduled for Nov. 27 to Dec. 1, Dec .6 and Dec .11 to 15 for two other adult co-accused in the case.
Jordan Osborne ,25, of Aylmer St, faces charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
Joseph Crawford ,29, of Dalhousie St., faces charges of accessory after the fact to murder and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
Another youth, a 16-year-old boy who faces charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, formally re-elected to face a judgealone trial in Peter borough Ontario Court of Justice scheduled for seven days, starting Jan. 15.