Beating led to death of drugged-out man, sentencing hearing told

A drug-agitated Nanaimo man died because of an attempt to physically subdue him rather than call for medical help, a B.C. Supreme Court hearing has been told.

That information was revealed during a sentencing hearing for Colin Lamontagne, who has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the April 2015 death of Shaun Alexander McGregor.

In an agreed statement of facts, signed by Lamontagne and read into the court record, Lamontagne admitted that the beating he gave McGregor contributed significantly to his death in a Begbie Street apartment on April 9, 2015.

According to the statement, Lamontagne did not seek help for McGregor, who was having a loud and violent reaction to drugs. Instead, in an effort to quiet McGregor, Lamontagne put duct tape around his ankles, struck his head several times, then put him in a neck hold to restrain him.

McGregor, 34, had been released from prison the week before he died. He visited his family for a few days, then came to Victoria on April 7, 2015.

Lamontagne and McGregor knew each other and were friendly, despite being interested in the same woman, Chelse Burns, the statement says.

At the time, Lamontagne was living with Patrick Hunter, whose father owned or partially owned the Begbie Street apartment. Lamontagne was living in Victoria to avoid being picked up on an outstanding warrant for his arrest. Burns was staying in Lamontagne’s room.

McGregor stayed at the apartment on April 8 and 9. Sometime before 5 p.m. on April 9, he took an unknown quantity of drugs, possibly including GHB, which was being produced and stored at the apartment, says the statement.

A very intoxicated McGregor began wailing, thrashing, kicking and knocking things over and breaking them. Hunter and Lamontagne were worried the neighbours would complain or call police.

Hunter asked Lamontagne to get the noise to stop, but Lamontagne couldn’t convince McGregor to stop thrashing and wailing. He tried to hold McGregor down, but couldn’t. He tried a bear hug and other wrestling style holds to control McGregor. He tried to restrain him by putting duct tape around his ankles. Nothing worked.

Lamontagne then struck McGregor’s head several times with enough force to knock him out, but McGregor continued to flail uncontrollably. Then, Lamontagne held him in a neck hold to restrain him.

“Mr. McGregor was flipping violently like a fish to resist the neck hold. Mr. McGregor eventually stopped flailing. These events took place over a number of minutes and at various points, Ms. Burns attempted to calm Mr. McGregor down to gently restrain him to no avail,” the statement says.

The situation was traumatic for Hunter, Lamontagne and Burns, court heard.

It was quite possible that McGregor injured himself during his uncontrolled flailing and flipping in the neck hold, says the statement.

Both Hunter and Lamontage left the suite about 6:50 p.m., leaving Burns to care for McGregor.

Before he left, Hunter saw McGregor unconscious, but snoring in Lamontagne’s bedroom. Neither man believed him to be in immediate medical peril.

Hunter dropped Lamontagne off at a friend’s residence. When he got back to the apartment, Burns was distraught. Hunter called 911 when he realized McGregor had stopped breathing.

A post-mortem analysis of McGregor’s blood showed heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine. An autopsy found McGregor died from multiple injuries including hemorrhaging on the brain causing fatal brain swelling, cranial-cervical dislocation and/or asphyxia caused by neck compression.

Crown prosecutor Patrick Weir is seeking a sentence of between five and six years, less two years and 165 days credit for the time Lamontagne has spent in pre-trial custody. This manslaughter was neither “near accident” nor “near murder,” Weir said.

“It was reckless and objectively dangerous conduct, wrought on an otherwise friendly but vulnerable acquaintance so that Mr. Lamontagne would not be discovered by the authorities.”

Defence lawyer Rory Morahan asked the court for a sentence of time served and no more time than two years less a day. He stressed Lamontagne has done well with his rehabilitation.