Man gets life in prison for fatal 1994 shooting
A Vancouver man who was convicted in connection with a fatal shooting 22 years ago was on Monday sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years.
On April 2, a B.C. Supreme Court jury found Jaswant Singh Gill guilty of the December 1994 first-degree murder of Thomas Eldon Akerman, 26.
During a Mr. Big undercover police operation, Gill confessed he shot Akerman three times in a vehicle parked near Metrotown in Burnaby. Asked by the undercover cop posing as Mr. Big whether the fatal shooting was a “drug thing,” he replied that it was a “greed thing.”
The jury also found Gill guilty of the February 2006 manslaughter of his 33-year-old wife, Gurpreet (Ruby) Gill, but after submissions from the lawyers in the case decided that he was not criminally responsible for that slaying because of a mental disorder.
Several victim impact statements in the Akerman case were provided to B.C. Supreme Court Justice Laura Gerow before she handed down the mandatory sentence on the murder conviction.
In one of the statements, Akerman’s stepmother said the “ripple effect” of Gill’s actions was far-reaching.
“It’s truly a tragic series of events, and one I am sure we all wish never happened,” said Yvonne Akerman in her statement.
“We are sad, we are numb, we were torn in our emotions, we were at a loss as to what happened over the years. We are scared, we are scarred, and we are now moving on in peace knowing justice has been served.”
Chantal Riding, the older sister of Akerman, said in her statement the “tremendous shock, loss and pain” of the day her brother was killed does not go away.
“The question of who did this horrific thing and why has been answered and a conviction reached. I am pleased that there has been a conviction for my brother’s murder.
“It doesn’t bring him back or lessen the pain of loss, but in having justice serviced, my belief is that others will be protected from experiencing the loss my family suffered.”
During the undercover operation, Gill first confessed to the fatal assault of his wife Ruby, who had come to Canada from India after an arranged marriage with her husband in 2000.
When he was asked how many people he’d killed in his life, he made the startling admission he had killed two people and proceeded to provide details of the fatal shooting.