Long prison terms sought for shooting death

Kurtis Sundman’s record includes three convictions for violence including two for assault with a weapon.

A sentencing hearing for three men found guilty of offences in a fatal drug-related shooting just east of the city began Monday with Crown prosecution seeking lengthy prison terms for the trio.

Darren Sundman and Sebastian Martin have been found guilty of second-degree murder and Kurtis Sundman of manslaughter in the Jan. 16, 2015 death of Jordan McLeod, who was 24 years old at the time.

McLeod was shot and killed a short distance along Upper Fraser Road after an apparently civil trip from Vanderhoof turned ugly. McLeod’s body was found a bit more than a month later off the Kaykay Forest Service Road northwest of the city.

Darren Sundman and Sebastian Martin automatically face life in prison. At question is the length of time they must serve before they’re eligible for parole and Crown is seeking 13 to 17 years before they can apply.

As for Kurtis Sundman, Crown is seeking 15 years in prison as a starting point.

Crown prosecutor Joseph Temple argued there are several aggravating factors against the three.

He said McLeod was subjected to a “prolonged and deliberate attack” while confined in Kurtis Sundman’s pickup truck, in which he was bludgeoned with a handgun and urged to leap out of the truck while it sped along Highway 16.

McLeod did just that, the court has heard, when the truck slowed down as Kurtis Sundman turned onto Upper Fraser Road.

His attackers got out and pursued him with Darren Sundman immobilizing McLeod by shooting him in the leg and the back and Martin following up with two shotgun blasts.

Williams found no evidence Kurtis Sundman pulled a trigger.

Temple asserted their treatment of Martin’s body in the aftermath was also aggravating as was their effort to get rid of other evidence, namely the handgun and McLeod’s car, which was driven south as far as the Quesnel River then set on fire and abandoned.

He also noted the Sundmans went on to commit a series of serious offences in the hours that followed, notably firing a shot at the owner of an ATV they were trying to steal. Martin, by that time, was back at his home in Vanderhoof.

That the murder was drug-related was also a factor in Temple’s view, saying that particularly in the Prince George area “violence, including murder, in that context is rife.”

Temple also raised their criminal records. Darren Sundman’s is the least egregious and primarily non-violent but includes possession of explosives. Kurtis Sundman’s record includes three convictions for violence including two for assault with a weapon. Martin’s is lengthy with the most significant offence being a conviction for aggravated assault and unlawful confinement from a 1996 incident.

Temple spent the rest of the day reviewing a long list of examples from other cases in which others were sentenced to lengthy terms for similar offences.

The day ended with Darren Sundman’s lawyer, John Gustafson, contending 10 to 12 years without eligibility for parole is more appropriate for his client.

The motivation for the incident is mixed. The Vanderhoof-based Sundmans had been selling drugs into that community supplied by the Prince George-based McLeod and it appeared the brothers were upset over his decision to set up someone else to sell product into the Van- derhoof market. McLeod had also struck up a relationship with Darren Sundman’s girlfriend, Stacey Stevenson, who became a key witness for the Crown.

But Gustafson noted the trip from Vanderhoof to Prince George was initially peaceful. He said it was unclear why the mood had changed an but in part, it was fueled by the methamphetamine, cocaine and alcohol Darren Sundman had consumed.

Gustafson said his client has since acknowledged his troubles with substance abuse and is open to treatment and rehabilitation for his addiction issues, “which bodes well for his future.”

He also argued Darren Sundman has expressed empathy for McLeod’s family and the impact his loss has had on them and has accepted at least some degree of responsibility for the death.

Submissions from defence council continue Tuesday at the Prince George courthouse.